


Varcolac: A Hybrid Tale

by HollyeLeigh



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Bloodlust, F/M, Hybrids, Minor Character Death, Sexy Times, Supernatural Elements, Transformation, Trapped, Vampire Bites, Vampire Turning, Werewolf Turning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-13 19:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 55,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollyeLeigh/pseuds/HollyeLeigh
Summary: While heading home to prepare for the coming evening, Killian Jones happens upon a woman broken down on the side of the road. A woman who shifts the entire foundations of his being with just her scent. Killian Jones is a werewolf you see, and the unsuspecting lass has landed herself deep in werewolf country on the cusp of the first night of the full moon. Knowing he must get her on her way for her own safety, Killian offers to fix her vehicle, but things go awry in town when another wolf attempts to stake a claim on the stunning stranger. Now Killian must do all he can to protect the woman, Emma Swan, from a vengeful pack, all while keeping his true nature a secret from her. Turns out, Killian Jones is no ordinary werewolf.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> This story first came to me last fall during the 2017 Halloweek, but got shelved in favor of other projects. A big thank you to @kmomof4 and the other @cssns mods for creating this event, so I could dust this fic off and give it another go. Much love to @artistic-writer for not only being my beta, but also my person. (If you had to murder someone, I’d cross the Pond to help you hide the body!) Another huge thank you to @flipperbrain for her stunning artwork! She created three pieces for me; the hybrid nature cover art and two content illustrations. You can see the on Tumblr! Finally, a shout out to @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 who gave me the idea to adjust this from a werewolf to a hybrid fic. Thank you!

“Seriously?! What the hell?” Emma half whined in response to her bug, which was now merely coasting down the rural, back road thanks to the engine dying.

She was able to use its remaining inertia to pull off to the side of the road before bringing the car to a complete stop. Turning the key to see if she could get it to restart, Emma’s irritation spiked when the engine attempted to turn over without success. She did not have time for this.

Frustrated, Emma made her way to the back of the bug and wrenched open the engine lid. A slight acrid smell of something burning filled her nostrils, but she couldn’t see where it was coming from. Not that she even really knew what she was looking for. Her expertise with motor vehicle repair extended to standing with her hands on her hips while she scowled at the offending issue and waited for a tow truck.

Emma plucked her phone from her back pocket and cursed the lack of bars. _No service. Just. Great._ She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and bent back over the engine, hoping that it might miraculously become animated and tell her the problem.

“Need a hand there, love?” a voice called out suddenly, catching Emma off guard and causing her to bang her head on the engine lid.

“Ow!” Emma’s eyes began to water as she rubbed the now tender spot on the back of her skull.

“Sorry about that,” the voice called again, closer this time. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I can take a look at your engine if you’re having trouble.”

Emma blinked the sting out of her eyes and tried to focus on the figure that was making his way toward her from a truck that had apparently pulled over to assist. Then she had to keep blinking. The man before her couldn’t possibly be real.

“Uh… sure. Thanks.”

The man flashed her a friendly smile and continued forward.

Given her line of work, Emma considered herself a quick and accurate judge of character. Working in bail bonds, with the occasional assignment that drifted into bounty hunter territory, it was imperative she knew exactly who she was dealing with. She could discover quite a bit about a person from the way they walked and how they carried themselves, the facial expressions they gave and how well they matched the tone in their voice or the intent within their eyes. Emma had an uncanny ability to read people, and she could spot a lie from a mile away. She found herself at a complete loss with the contradiction of the man making his way toward her, though.

He had a stalking swagger that screamed trouble, only it was juxtaposed with a soft, sincere smile. Eyes a piercing blue seemed to track her movements with sharp, predatory focus, but were framed with flirty, arched brows and friendly crinkles at their corners. Emma got the sense that this was a man she could trust while simultaneously feeling like she should run for the hills. Running probably wouldn’t be a smart option, though. Something in his eyes told her he’d only give chase if she ran, and she found that she wouldn’t mind if he did.

His dark, disheveled hair fluttered in the breeze, and when he finally finished his approach she could see an auburn tint to the light scuff that adorned his visibly clenched jaw. He swallowed and wet his lips before extending his hand and offered an introduction.

“Killian Jones. At your service.”

He had an accent she realised. Of course, he did.

“Emma,” she replied as she shook his strong, calloused hand. “Emma Swan.”

“Let’s see what the trouble is, shall we?”

He released her hand and bent over the engine to begin his assessment. _Wow, he smells good_. Emma couldn’t ever remember having such a strong olfactory response to a person, but the mixture of masculine scents with the sweet hint of recent exertions had her feeling dizzy and flushed. As did the view of his ass, which she assessed with as much scrutiny as he did her bug’s motor.

“Well, love. I’ve got good news, bad news, and then some more good news,” he stated, snapping her attention back to the trouble at hand and away from the trouble her thoughts were quickly spiraling toward.

“Okay,” she responded.

“First piece of good news is that it's just a burned up coil pack.” He pulled a rag from his back pocket and began to wipe the grime from his hands as he went on to explain. “Relatively inexpensive, not too complicated a fix, we can get it repaired and you on your way in a jiffy. The bad news is… the nearest town’s tow truck is out of commission, so there’s no way to get your car back to town, I’m afraid.”

“What’s the other good news, then?”

“Your charming vehicle doesn’t need to be towed into town. I can fix it right here once I’ve got the part.” He returned the rag to his back pocket and closed the engine lid. “All that remains now, is for you to decide whether you’re more comfortable accompanying me to town, or waiting here for my return.”

“Why are you helping me?” The question popped out before Emma could stop it. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful, especially when there was no one else around willing to assist her, but she couldn’t help be wary of the man regardless of how attractive and friendly he was, or maybe because of it.

“It would be bad form to leave you stranded on the side of the road, lass.”

“So you’re a gentleman then?” she quipped with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

“Right now I am,” he smirked, his brow arching in matching fashion. “So, what’ll it be, Swan? Are you coming with me, or staying here?”

Emma’s stomach took the moment to throw in it’s two cents with a distinct rumble. Killian’s smirk turned into a full blown grin as he chuckled.

“There’s a diner in town.” he informed. “Best onion rings on the east coast. You can get a bite to eat while I get your new coil pack and the necessary tools to swap it out.”

Emma worried her lip for a moment and considered her choice. Common sense told her to stay put, to not get in a stranger’s truck, to not put her trust in a pair of too blue eyes that seemed to flash with warning. Curiosity, though. Curiosity was still trying to figure this _Killian Jones_ out. She wanted to know what kind of man he truly was: the gentleman that had stopped to assist, or the scoundrel she could just make out from the shadows behind his eyes.

“I’ll come with,” Emma decided, and his brows raised in surprise. After grabbing her bag and locking up her car she approached his truck and taunted, “It’s not like you bite, right?”

“Not unless you ask, love.” He grinned and gave her a playful wink, but Emma noticed how his fists had clenched at his sides when she’d teased him.

* * *

Her scent was absolutely intoxicating. A rich assault that stirred his groin and made his teeth ache. A clawing need flooded his veins with an almost overwhelming compulsion to taste. Her skin, her essence, her blood. Killian wasn’t sure which he desired more, and he’d had to clench his jaw in order to force his fangs to retract while he swallowed the salivating sensation her scent had caused when he’d first found himself in her presence.

She had no idea the potential danger she was in. With the impending full moon, Killian was eager to get her on her way, lest she be stranded in a community full of werewolves. Not to mention the growing desire that sang in his blood for a taste of hers. It had been a long time since he’d experienced a bloodlust of this intensity, if ever, and the sooner she was on her way, the better. For everyone.

_Why in the bloody hell did I offer for her to accompany me?_

Torment. The ride into town was sheer torment.

“So what brings you all the way out here, love?” Killian asked in attempt to make polite conversation and keep his thoughts from careening any further into temptation.

“A case,” she replied, keeping her eyes trained on the road before them. Killian wondered if she could sense it now that they were contained in close proximity. The danger that lurked just beneath the surface of who he was, _what_ he was. Not that she had any reason to fear him. He wouldn’t hurt her, or at least, he didn’t _want_ to hurt her.

He just wanted to taste her.

Killian shook the all too tempting thought from his head and asked, “What sort of case? Are you a social worker? A cop?” He waggled his brows at her before playfully adding, “A spy?”

“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” she teased back with a coy smile set on her lips.

“I can think of worse ways to meet my end than having your lovely face as the last thing I’d see.” Killian could hear the increase in her pulse and the shallowing of her breath. In his periphery he saw a beguiling blush sweep up her neck and bloom at the apple of her cheeks, an alluring sight that had him gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles were white as he attempted to exhibit some manner of control over himself.

Why was he courting danger by flirting with her? He was walking a fine enough line of peril as it was.

“Bail bonds,” she stated, drawing him back to the conversation at hand. “I work in bail bonds, but this case has me more in the role of bounty hunter. I got a tip that one of my skips is hiding out up north, so I’m taking the weekend to track him down and drag his ass back to Portland.”

“That’s quite a dedication to your profession, love,” Killian replied with a tone that betrayed his awe at her impressive occupation. He’d already gotten a sense that she was tough lass. “Sacrificing time from your personal life in order to spend the weekend chasing down some deadbeat.”

Emma scoffed, “It isn’t much of a sacrifice when you don’t really have one of those.” Killian shot her a confused look and she blushed again as she clarified. “A life. Don’t really have time for one of those in my line of work.”

Killian sensed her discomfort and realized that she’d probably shared more than she’d intended to with him. “Well, as I said,” he began again, hoping to alleviate her uneasiness, “it won’t take too long to fix your car and then you’ll be on your way again in no time.”

They spent the next few miles in silence until the sight of the town’s sign prompted her to break the quiet. “Storybrooke? I don’t remember seeing this town on my map.”

“Not surprising. Not much to it really,” Killian deflected.

“So, what do you do, Mr. Killian Jones?” she inquired with a playful tone. Her earlier misgivings about oversharing seemingly laid to rest.

“You mean, besides rescuing damsels in distress from the side of the road?” he provoked with a raised brow and smirk.

“I am not a damsel in distress,” she disputed, still with an air of teasing, though there was a vehemence to her statement as well.

“Of course not, love,” Killian relented. “Any man who’d think so is an utter fool. And I am not an utter fool, I am a professor. Since you asked.”

“A professor? Where? That must be some commute. I didn’t think there was a university or college up this way.”

“There isn’t,” he affirmed. “I teach an online course and consult with others in my field.”

“And fix cars in your spare time?” she teased.

“I am a man of _many_ interests and talents, love,” he quipped back flirtatiously, then berated himself for his behavior. What the bloody hell was he doing? He needed to get this woman back on the road and on her way before he lost his good sense altogether.

Killian pulled up to the diner and had to take a moment to collect himself before getting out of his truck. As they entered, he was relieved to see it nearly empty of patrons. It would be safer for the lass that way.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you in here today,” Granny called as she came out from the kitchens. She stopped short at the sight of his companion and Killian rushed to provide introductions lest the lass became suspicious at Granny’s startled expression.

“Uh, Granny. This is Emma Swan. Her car broke down several miles outside of town, and I’m helping her in getting it fixed. I told her about your fantastic onion rings though, so I thought she might want a bite to eat while I go get the part we need. Swan, this is Granny Lucas. The proprietor of Granny’s Diner and the Bed and Breakfast attached at the back.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lucas,” Emma greeted with a little wave from across the counter.

“Just Granny, dear,” she replied kindly. “It’s lovely to meet you, too. Why don’t you have a seat and look over the menu.” She turned her stern eyes to Killian and said, “Before you head over to Tillman’s, I need a word with you.”

Killian winced slightly at the reprimand he knew she was about to hand him, but dutifully followed her to the back hallway.

“What do you think you’re doing bringing an outsider here? Today of all days,” Granny admonished with her hands braced at her hips.

“I couldn’t very well leave her on the side of the road now, could I?” Killian argued, though he knew that’s exactly what he _should_ have done. He should have insisted that she wait with her vehicle while he came to town on his own, but he didn’t. He hadn’t _wanted_ to. Once he’d caught wind of her scent he’d wanted nothing more than to remain in her presence, which was why he’d made the offer for her to accompany him.

“Well, you better make it quick. You and I both know what’ll happen if a Bitten gets wind of her and finds out _you’re_ the one that brought her here.”

Killian did know. Bitten’s exhibited little to no control over their impulses this close to a full moon. There had already been an uptick in skirmishes between the packs in town, and she-wolves always had to be on their guard for unwanted advances from over eager males. It usually wasn’t too much of a concern; the female of their species could definitely hold their own, and they had pack members to back them up. A lone human was vulnerable, though.

They had rules about interfering with humans who were merely passing through the territories, or who waywardly found themselves into town. Rules Killian had skirted by inviting her along, endangering both of them.

He cursed himself a fool then noticed Granny eyeing him with great scrutiny. “Why didn’t you just leave her to wait with her car?” Granny questioned. “The charter would have protected her from any of our kind who might have come across her in your absence.”

“I know, I just,” Killian faltered, unsure as to why he’d allowed a pretty face and alluring scent to cause him to act so rashly. “I just couldn’t.” Killian shrugged at his lame attempt to explain his actions and he saw a spark of understanding ignite behind Granny’s now softening stare.

“I see,” she replied with a self-satisfied smirk, looking a bit like the cat that caught the canary. Though, given their nature, that analogy probably wasn’t appropriate.

“Do you?” Killian’s brows lifted incredulously. “Care to enlighten me?”

“No. You’ll figure it out soon enough,” Granny responded, that same smug expression alighting her face. Until raised voices called both their attentions back to the diner.

The sight that met them as they rounded the corner had Killian growling irrationally. One of the Bittens from the Oz pack had sidled themselves next to his Swan. _His Swan?_

“Car trouble, huh?” the Bitten, Walsh, schmoozed. “I’d be more than happy to take a good look under _your_ hood.”

Killian rolled his eyes at the man’s attempt at an innuendo, and noted Swan’s mirroring of that action.

“I’ve got it covered, thanks.” she replied curtly, not looking up from the menu.

“Oh?” Walsh questioned as he scooted closer. “How’s that?”

“You better get over there before her explanation goes any further,” Granny whispered harshly in Killian’s ear.

Killian heeded the older woman’s warning and approached the bar with his typical confident swagger. “Change of plan, Swan.” he began, ignoring Walsh completely as he stood at her other side. “Granny will prepare you a to-go bag while you and I both go and fetch the needed items to fix your car.”

“Sounds good to me.” Emma stood from her seat and turned toward Killian, only to be halted by Walsh’s grasp at her elbow.

“Wait a minute.” Walsh’s eyes narrowed at Killian. “Did Jones bring you into town?”

“I’m only trying to help the lass get on her way,” Killian stated, skirting the question.

“By bringing her into town? Today?” Walsh taunted as a feral grin stretched across his face, raising Killian’s hackles.

Emma attempted to wrench her arm out of Walsh’s grip as she inquired, “What’s so special about today? And why shouldn’t he bring me to town? I needed help with my car.”

Walsh’s grasp held firm against her struggle while his attention remained trained on Killian. His eyes danced at the confirmation that Killian had, indeed, brought her to town, and he pulled Emma closer to him.

“Let go of me,” she demanded.

“You heard the lass,” Killian said with a hint of menace. “Let go.”

“If you wanted her, you should have claimed her so it was obvious who she belonged to,” Walsh countered.

“Whoa!” Emma exclaimed. “I don’t _belong_ to anyone.”

“Not yet,” Walsh drawled, swiping his tongue salaciously over his bottom lip. “But Jones here made you fair game when he brought you into town today. Isn’t that right, Jones?”

Emma pierced Killian with a heated look of outrage. “What the hell is he talking about?”

“I brought her to town to get a bite to eat while I get the necessary parts and tools to fix her car so she can leave before sundown, and that’s what’s going to happen,” Killian affirmed as he braced his stance to a more dominant posture. The dispute had started to spike his adrenaline and Killian knew the release of excess testosterone between him and Walsh would draw others to the feud. He needed to get Swan out of there before more of Walsh’s pack showed up. “Now take your hand off the lass.”

“And what’s a freak like you gonna do if I don’t?” Walsh challenged.

The bell over the diner’s door chimed and Killian’s fear materialized in the form of three more Oz pack members. There was nothing for it, Killian was going to have to exert a bit of power over Walsh in order to protect his Swan. Even if it meant the worst possible outcome for him personally.

“I guess I’ll just have to make you,” Killian muttered darkly. He cast out his will, using his power of persuasion to permeate the diner as he caught the eye of each of its patrons, including a stunned and sorrowful Granny.

“I don’t need you to make him,” Emma snapped angrily, unaware of the compliance that had unwillingly beset itself upon her aggressor. “The only one who saves me, is me.”

“Swan, don’t!” Before Killian could stop her, Emma had her arm out of Walsh’s grasp with his twisted behind his back and his face slammed against the counter. Killian’s stunned response broke his concentration for a moment and a rumble filled the diner as the others reacted. “Everyone remain calm,” Killian demanded as he took control of the atmosphere around him once more. “The lass and I are leaving.” Killian set his attention on Emma. “Swan. Let him up.”

Emma’s brows shot up and her face went white with understanding. “Holy shit! You’re… you’re all-”

“Aye,” he replied. His brow furrowed in confusion at her lack of compliance; an expression that only deepened as he noticed the absence of the telltale haze in her eyes that typically accompanied his use of persuasion over the mind. _Was she not affected by it somehow?_ “I’ll explain everything on our way out of town,” he promised before turning toward Granny with mournful eyes.

“Go,” the woman commanded. “I’ll do what I can from here. You just go and keep her safe. Keep both of you safe.”

Killian nodded, not trusting his voice enough to say anything more in that moment, then took Emma’s arm and guided her towards the door.

“Hey!” she protested, trying to remove herself from his grip the way she had with Walsh. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what the hell is going on!”

“I’m afraid we don’t have that luxury,” Killian argued, forcing her into the cab of his truck from the driver’s side. “I’m not kidnapping you Swan, but I need to get us both out of town. I promised to explain on the way, and I shall, but first we need to get some distance between us and the packs.”

“Packs? As in more than one?”

“Afraid so. Two to be exact.” Putting the truck into gear he turned and sardonically quipped, “Welcome to werewolf country, love,” before peeling out of the diner’s parking lot.

“Oh, god. I didn’t start some sort of pack war did I?”

Killian could smell the fear that thought created within her and reached over to lay his hand atop hers; an instinct that felt so natural, though he knew it shouldn’t.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, love.” He kept his tone soothing and took his own comfort in the fact that she hadn’t flinched or pulled her hand away from his. “I promise to do all I can to see to it that you aren’t blamed for my actions, though.”

“ _Your_ actions? I’m the one that slammed a werewolf against the bar of the diner!” Emma’s brows scrunched together as she pondered aloud, “How did I do that? I shouldn’t have been able to do that. You’re all so much stronger than humans are.”

“You seem to know a bit about our kind,” Killian pointed out curiously. “How did you realize what we were?”

“The sound,” Emma answered with a shudder. “The collective growl they all made when I pinned down one of their own, and the way they all deferred to an Alpha.”

“An Alpha?” Killian’s head snapped towards her, taking his eyes off the road even as he sped toward the town line.

“Yeah. You,” Emma replied. “That’s why they all listened to you, isn’t it? You’re an Alpha of one of the packs?”

“Uh… not exactly. I’m-”

“Oh, god!” Emma cried out again. “I rejected and humiliated a werewolf on his turf on the day of the first full moon!”

The seriousness of her predicament was starting to settle in, but Killian knew he needed to give her the full picture of what he’d gotten them into. As soon as he got her calmed down, that is.

“He’s not gonna come after me is he? You can talk to his Alpha, right? I assume you aren’t _his_ Alpha, or else he never would have challenged you in the first place. And what _was_ all that about you bringing me into town, and making claims over me like some piece of-”

“Slow down, love,” Killian advised. “Your heart’s about to beat out of your chest. I need you to breathe.”

Emma took a shaky breath and her gaze landed on their joined hands. Neither of them had even realized they’d linked their fingers together. She pulled her hand from his and the loss he felt at the action was sharper than any he’d experienced in quite some time.

“I’m not an Alpha,” Killian corrected, setting aside his bewildering feelings to analyze later, and focused instead on the promised explanation. “I’m not a member of either pack, actually. I was orphaned at birth.” Killian heard her sharp intake of breath, every muscle within her body tightened, but he sensed it was out of more than simple pity. “Granny raised me,” he continued. “Her granddaughter is mate to one of the packs’ leaders, and it’s his benevolence that affords me the opportunity to remain in the area.”

“A lone wolf?” Emma astonished. “I didn’t think that was _actually_ a thing. If Granny raised you, then why aren’t you a member of her pack?”

“It’s… complicated,” Killian hedged, not ready to dive into that particular detail. “But, yes. Lone wolves are exceedingly rare, and not favorably looked upon. I’ve been fortunate to have Graham’s aegis.” Killian relaxed a bit as the town sign flew past the window of his truck, though fresh guilt began to churn in his gut at they way he’d just repaid the man for his generosity. “Storybrooke lies on the coastal boundary of both packs’ territories. A charter was negotiated at its founding which established the town as neutral ground. It also includes provisions that offer protection to humans who might find themselves crossing through the territories, or who happen into town on their own.”

“So, the charter will protect me?” Emma asked, hope lacing her words though her expression remained wary. “Even though I assaulted that guy?”

“I’m afraid my actions have complicated the matter,” Killian said with contrition. “We are... _discouraged_ from inviting humans into town as a matter of protection for both our kinds. If it had been anyone other than me to cause the infraction it would have probably been overlooked, seeing as how both packs could agree that having you here when the sun sets would not be ideal.”

“Why _anyone other than you_? Because of the lone wolf thing?”

“Let’s just say there are many within both packs that barely tolerate my existence, much less my presence.”

“Let me guess,” Emma embittered. “The Bitten at the diner is at the top of your fan list?”

Killian shot her a stunned look. “You really do know quite a lot about us. Tell me, love. How is it that you’re so knowledgeable of… my kind?

Emma’s face flushed and she tore her eyes from him, her attention fell to her hands fidgeting in her lap. “You can never be too careful in my line of work. You never know when the scumbag you’re tracking could end up being something other than human.”

Killian could tell from her demeanor, and the spike of adrenaline her discomfort of the subject caused, that there was more than just a need to be prepared. He could read between the lines enough to knowingly state, “Had a rather nasty run-in with a werewolf, I take it.”

“No,” she replied with clipped contempt. “A vampire, actually.”

Bitterness and anger permeated the cab of his truck, and though his curiosity was heavily piqued, Killian held his tongue from questioning her further.

The yellow blur of her bug caught her attention prompting her to demand, “Where exactly are you taking me?”

“My place,” Killian answered offhandedly before continuing with his explanation. “As I was saying about the charter-”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Emma interrupted. “Your place?” Her pulse began to race, and that beguiling blush returned to her cheeks. “I don’t know what you think-”

“Your bug is still out of commission, Swan,” Killian cut in. “And this road runs right through the pack territory the Bitten back at the diner belongs to. I’m simply trying to get us both to neutral ground so I can check-in with Granny and get an idea of what we’re facing from the fallout back in town. For all we know, Walsh and his cronies are in pursuit of us at this very moment. My home is the safest place for us to wait for news, then we can figure out the best way to get you away from this mess. I have no intention of keeping you there against your will, but we have limited options before us until I know more about what we are facing.”

Her posture relaxed, evidence that she trusted his word and his intentions, and given the little he’d been able to deduce about her, he didn’t take that trust lightly.

“How much further?” she asked as she peered over her shoulder out the rear window, most likely looking for any signs of them being followed.

“Another twenty minutes and we’ll be there,” he answered. He gave into the compulsion to touch her and laid a hand at her thigh. “I promise no harm will come to you, Swan. I’ll do all that I can to see to that.”

He took his eyes from the road to catch hers, hoping the intensity he could feel at the vow would be clearly expressed there. Her grateful smile and appreciative nod released a swell of protectiveness within him, but it was laced with an alarming amount of possession. Full understanding of Granny’s earlier words broke over him as he was again overwhelmed by the allure of her scent. _Bloody hell,_ he cursed internally. If his suspicions were correct, they may have an even bigger problem than angry wolves to contend with. Killian’s earlier assessment became more pressing with each passing minute.

Emma Swan needed to get as far from this place, _from him_ , as she could… while he was still willing and able to let her.

* * *

They had turned off the main road and on to a barely noticeable gravel drive that wove its way through the wooded landscape. After several minutes, a rustic cabin came into view. It was nestled among towering pines; a mix of stone and wood construction with a wide front porch and tall chimney that beckoned to Emma.

And why not? Everything associated with Killian Jones had beckoned to her thus far, why should the man’s home be any different?

They’d fallen into a companionable silence after the assurances about his intentions. Emma still couldn’t figure out why she was so quick to put her trust in him, he was little more than a stranger to her, and yet. There was just _something_ about the man she couldn’t wrap her head around, and it wasn’t the fact that he was a werewolf. She had done her research, had even met a few before him, but something about Killian Jones made him different, even by werewolf standards.

He had an animalistic yet elegant quality about him. A grace one wouldn’t normally associate with his kind. He had exuded prediatory dominance when he’d faced off against the other wolf, but not in an overly possessive way. Protectiveness over her seemed to have been his driving force from the moment he’d pulled over to help, though Emma couldn’t image why. Guilt prickled over her skin. All he’d tried to do was help her, to keep her safe, and she’d gone and picked a fight with a Bitten hours before the full moon.

Now here he was opening his cabin to her, literally inviting trouble into his home.

The inside was cozy and welcoming. A small kitchen was situated towards the back, past the front living space that was dominated by the large stone fireplace. There were two doors, one across from the kitchen and one just off to its side. Emma assumed that the first led to his bedroom, while the other was likely a pantry, or perhaps a water closet. Though, minimal in its decor, the space filled her with a sense of warmth and comfort; the kind of place she’d always longed to call home. She could appreciate the appeal the solitude afforded, even if it wasn’t strictly his choice.

“Make yourself at home,” he offered as he tossed his keys on a small table by the door. “The bathroom’s located through the bedroom if you’ve need of it. I’ll call Granny and see what I can find out.”

He’d already informed her that while there was no cell service on the main road between the two packs’ territories, they would be able to get a call out from his cabin.

Emma had just turned the knob to open the door he’d gestured to when she heard a woman’s voice screech through the phone in lieu of a greeting.

_“Killian Jones do you have some kind of death wish?!”_

“Bloody hell, Ruby!” he exclaimed, pulling the phone from his ear with a wince. “You don’t have to yell, my hearing is quite acute I’ll have you know.”

 _“Don’t you dare make jokes,”_ the woman snarled. _“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”_

Emma watched Killian release a resigned breath and hang his head before replying, “Aye. I have an idea. Where’s Granny?”

There was a long pause, and Emma could only guess that the phone on the other end was changing hands. In the span of those waiting moments Killian’s demeanor shifted.

“Granny. I’m… I’m so sorry.” His voice came out strained and choked with emotion as he addressed the older woman who was now on the line, and Emma thought it best to give him some space.

Slipping into his room, she closed the door softly behind her then made her way toward the restroom. Like the rest of his home, everything in these two rooms was warm and inviting despite the sparse decor and lack of displayed belongings. Light flooded the bedroom from the larger than expected picture windows along the back wall and the skylight that gave view to the canopy above her and the gray sky beyond.

After taking the opportunity to make use of the facilities and freshen up with a bit of cool water splashed on her face and neck, Emma sat on the edge of his bed by the door and waited. She could hear his murmured, dulcet tone, signaling that he was still on the phone, but he sounded further away than he had been when she’d left him to the call, leaving her unable to make out what was being said. It wasn’t until she felt sure the conversation had ended that she made her way from his room, finding him seated on his couch with his phone clutched tightly in his hand.

The floorboard under her foot creaked, and though she knew he had to have heard the bedroom door open, it was this noise that prompted him to look up and meet her gaze. Emma’s breath caught at the anguish and rage she saw in his eyes, and she was overcome with an inexplicable compulsion to comfort him.

“Killian? What did she say?” she inquired softly as she made her way to him.

Before she could settle herself next to him on the couch, he sprang from his seat. “You have to go,” he stated firmly, grabbing his keys from where he’d tossed them when they’d first entered. “Take my truck and get as far from here as fast as you can.”

Emma stared at the keys dangling from his hand. “Why? What did Granny say?”

“They’re coming,” he declared, pressing the keys into her hand then locating her bag and handing it over as well, “You have to get out of here. Head north and don’t stop until you reach the border.”

He guided her toward the door and it took Emma’s mind a minute to truly catch up with what he was saying. “The border? You mean Canada?”

“Aye. You won’t have to crossover. There’s a vampire community just before. Any wolves that might follow you won’t dare enter their territory. You’ll be safe there.”

Emma stared at him. The man had clearly lost his mind if he thought she’d be safe among vampires. “Are you crazy?! I’m not hiding out among a brood of vampires!”

“There’s no time to argue, Swan. Walsh and the other three wolves from the diner are on their way here now.”

Emma’s stomach dropped. “For me?”

“No,” he replied. The lie was quick off his tongue, but he amended his statement before she could call him on it. “Maybe.” He ran a hand through his hair, clutching at the strands in the back as his jaw tightened and began to tick. “They’re definitely coming for me. Granny wasn’t sure what their intentions were with you, but I’m not about to let you wait around and find out.”

Killian reached around her to open the door. She placed her hand on his forearm, stalling his movement and their eyes met.

“Then come with me.” Emma was almost as shocked by her invitation as his expression revealed him to be. If events were moving more slowly, she might have had time to examine and rebuke these impulses. She would bury the desire to trust, to care for, to rely on this man she barely knew instead of allowing panic and fear over his safety swell within her to the point of spilling over.

Killian’s gaze softened and she saw his brief consideration of the idea flicker behind his eyes. “I can’t. In another hour I’ll be forced to transform. I can’t do that in the truck. It wouldn’t be safe for either of us, and you can’t afford to waste those precious moments the delay of _their_ transformation will give you by allowing time for mine.” He lifted his gaze and swept it over their surroundings as he continued, “It may not look like much, but this cabin is fortified to be able to withstand whatever Walsh and cronies have planned.”

“They’re coming here to kill you aren’t they?” Emma’s chest constricted as that reality finally set in.

“They’re certainly going to try,” Killian muttered darkly, his jaw muscle pulsing again under the strain.

Emma’s grasp on his forearm tightened, her panic shuddering through each breath as she despaired, “Oh, god. This is all my fault.”

“No, Swan. It’s mine,” he argued. “Which is why you have to go. I won’t endanger your life any more than I already have.”

“So, what? I’m just supposed to leave you here to die?”

A soft smile lifted at the corner of his mouth, and he reached out to brush a section of her hair over her shoulder, leaving a ripple of goose flesh in its wake. “You don’t have to worry about me, love. If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s surviving.” He grasped the knob and began opening the door. “Now, let’s get you out of here. There isn’t much time.”

Emma leaned back against the door, slamming it closed. “No.”

“No?” he echoed with confused and incredulous brows.

“I’m not leaving.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest for emphasis and stared back at his astonished gaze.

“Swan.” He pressed in closer, and her skin prickled in response to his proximity “You were right about Walsh. He is a Bitten. Most of his pack is, which means once they transform they’ll remain in wolf form until the full moon cycle ends. That’s four days. Are you really prepared to stay here for four days… with me?”

“Will you be a wolf the whole time?”

“No. I’m a Born,” he replied. Although he must have suspected that she knew what that meant, he continued his explanation just to be sure. “With the exception of my compulsory transformation during the nights of the full moon, I have the ability to transform at will. I can revert back into human form during the day.”

“And when you’re in wolf form?”

The trepidation in her voice didn’t escape either of their notice, though her resolve was still set in her posture.

“Borns have more control over the wolf than Bittens do,” he said softly. Emma could hear the uncertainty in his tone, but once again he volunteered a clarification before she could question the authenticity of his answer. “I’ve never been confined with a human while in wolf form, though. I don’t think… I don’t _want_ to harm you in any way, but I can’t promise-”

“You won’t.” Emma had no idea where that vote of confidence came from, but she believed it wholeheartedly. A fact that had her ready to change her mind, and rush out the door for his truck.

“You can’t know that, Swan,” he countered, completely unaware of the internal battle waging inside her. “With the presence of other wolves around my home I’m liable to be aggressive and territorial.” His hands flexed at his sides and Emma sensed that there was more tormenting him than just the unpredictability of his wolf nature.

“Maybe so,” she said, “but we both know that they _will_ be aggressive and territorial. Do you honestly think I’m better off out there on my own than in here with you?”

Killian’s gaze swept over her face and flickered between her eyes. The answer was reflected in his now darkened stare and a small tremor ran over her skin at the truth that resided there. He slipped her bag off her shoulder and reached into her palm to retrieve his keys as further evidence to the decision they’d both come to.

She wasn’t leaving.

“Come, Swan,” he murmured. “We should make some preparations before they get here.”

* * *

The perimeter alarm sounded on his phone just as Killian finished checking the security of the cellar. He and Swan had used the past thirty or so minutes to lock down his cabin. Replenishing the pile of logs next to the fireplace, drawing the curtains so the approaching pack wouldn’t have a visual to the inside, taking stock of their resources, and bolting the door had all been accomplished just in time.

“They’re here,” Killian announced solemnly as he cleared the alarm notification.

During their moments of preparation he had detailed the many fortifications he had established over the cabin and the property. Impenetrable glass on the windows, a reinforced door, impact resistant roof, and a security system that notified him whenever something human sized or larger crossed the perimeter were all modifications he’d made over the years. His status as an outcast, and the unusual nature of his being, had made him a target for attacks before, but this situation would be entirely different than those he’d faced in the past. This one was sanctioned.

Though he’d known it was foolish, Killian had held out hope that perhaps Graham would offer his pack’s protection, would intervene on his behalf, but according to Granny, that was not the case. Killian couldn’t really blame the man. He’d made it clear from the beginning that his benevolence extended only so far. Killian had vowed to not stir up trouble, to adhere to the very letter and spirit of the charter that governed the peace between the packs. A vow he’d broken when he’d brought Emma into town, then used his unnatural ability against those he’d always claimed were his own kind.

The truth was, though… Killian did not have a _kind_ of his own. So, it shouldn’t surprise him that he stood alone now. Well, not truly alone.

 _She_ had stayed.

It had taken every ounce of determination to try and get her out the door. For as much as he feared what Walsh and his little pack of followers would do, he was more concerned with the growing obsession flooding his senses in regards to the fiery and enticing blonde. A concern that heightened when she refused to leave and he realized that even if she had changed her mind, he wouldn’t have let her go. The guilt and shame over that admission churned in his gut every bit as much as the pressure he felt to keep her safe… and not just from the pack making its way up his drive.

Killian heard their vehicle come to a stop, and he pulled the curtain at the front window aside slightly. His skin buzzed at Swan’s presence as she pressed herself close to him so she could peer out the small opening. The scent of her hair had him fighting the earlier urges to taste her, until a spike in her anxiety sobered him enough to register the foursome making their way toward the cabin. Pulling her back from the window, he kept his arms wrapped around her as Walsh began taunting them from the porch.

“You know that I can smell you in there,” Walsh stated from the other side of the door.

The crunch of boots over the fallen leaves sounded in opposite directions as the other three began to circle the cabin. Knocks echoed from various points along the walls, causing a shiver to cascade over the woman in his arms. Killian growled in response to the fear they were eliciting from her and tightened his grip.

“I know she’s in there with you.” Killian heard the man take in a dramatic breath as if sniffing the air before he continued on smugly. “I can smell her from here.” Nails scratched down the enforced surface of the door before the handle rattled violently. “I don’t have to tell you how delicious she smells. I imagine that’s why you took her from her car in the first place, huh?” His footsteps thumped along the boards of the porch until he paused at the window and began tapping at the glass. “Enjoy her while you can. If there’s anything left of her after I tear your throat out, I’ll be only too happy to finish her off… after we’ve had _our_ fun with her, of course.”

Emma’s breath caught and Killian spun her around to face him. “Don’t listen to him, Swan.”

“He’s the one you shouldn’t have listened to,” Walsh railed. “You’ve sealed your fate by choosing him, _Swan._ I bet he hasn’t even told you the whole truth, has he?”

“What’s he talking about?” Emma’s voice quivered, despite the brave face she was attempting to put on. “What truth?”

“Come on out here, and I’ll tell you,” Walsh enticed. “You’re not likely to get the full measure from him until it’s too late.”

Killian released Emma and stormed over to the window. Wrenching back the curtain, he caught Walsh’s eyes and commanded, “Enough!” Killian heard Emma’s heart pound erratically, and could feel the anger and menace pouring off his foe. The three others joined their leader and Killian claimed their gazes as well. “I know it’s pointless to tell you to leave. You’ll only come back once you’ve transformed. But you’re done with the theatrics,” Killian snarled. “Not another sound from the lot of you.”

He snapped the curtain closed and turned to face a bewildered looking Emma.

“What was th-”

“Later,” Killian clipped, taking her arm and guiding her to his bedroom. “We haven’t much time until sundown.” He could feel the vibrations in his nerve endings. The early warning system built into his nature, alerting him that transformation was imminent. “You are welcome to my bed,” he offered. “I’ll stay out in the living room.” He rummaged through his closet for a moment until he located the item he’d been searching for. Pressing it into her hand, he said, “Take this. It’s aerosolized silver, just in case… in case they somehow get in or I-”

“Killian.” Emma’s hand came up to rest at his cheek, startling him into silence. “I know there’s more going on than you’re telling me. Something more happened at the diner. Something you’re afraid to tell me.” Killian swallowed heavily and drew in a shaky breath. He dropped his gaze from hers, no longer able to look her in the eye. He knew he’d have to confess it to her sooner or later. “I want you to know that it’s okay. You can tell me in your own time.”

Killian flicked his stunned gaze back to hers and was overcome by the sincerity and acceptance he saw there. “Why?” he whispered.

Everything he knew about this woman, all he’d been able to presume from their limited time together, stood in stark contradiction before him, and all the _whys_ from the day came slamming into his contemplations. Why had she chosen to come into town with him? Why had she chosen to stay? Why hadn’t she shown a hint of fear with him? Why was she willing to let Walsh’s taunts and accusations go unanswered? He didn’t dare to hope that he might know the reason, it wasn’t possible.

“You haven’t given me any reason not to trust you,” she responded before removing her hand from his cheek. “Although, I admit that isn’t something I tend to do with people. Trust them, that is. Even so,” she paused and took a moment to worry her lip before resolving whatever final argument she was engaging with herself, “despite everything. I’m going to choose to see the best in you.”

Killian released a stuttered breath and watched as she placed the spray he’d given her on the bedside table before taking his hand. The urge to pull her in to him and lay claim to her mouth was almost overwhelming. If not for the quickly fading glow of the sunset coming in through the skylight and the flood of transformative hormones he could feel surging through his veins, he most certainly would have.

“I appreciate that, love,” he breathed out in reply. “I’ll endeavor to be deserving of that trust.” A spasm rolled through him, causing him to drop Emma’s hand before he could hurt her by gripping it too tightly. “The sun has almost set,” he strained, grasping at his ribs where the pain always began.

“Right… um. Is there… I mean, what do you need to-”

“I just need to take care of some necessities,” he answered. The more he resisted the change the more painful it would be, so he hurried to complete his final human tasks before offering, “I’ll bring you your bag, but you’re also welcome to use anything of mine you might have need of.”

He moved on trembling legs out into the living room and located her satchel. He could feel her eyes on him as she waited in the doorway of his room, the concern she was exhibiting in response to his impending transformation permeated the air between them. Not just a concern born out of fear for herself, but one that revealed the anxiety she was experiencing on his behalf as well. After he extended the bag to her she hugged it tightly to herself while they both awkwardly waited for the other to say something that might alleviate the mounting tension.

Killian reached up and scratched at a tingling patch behind his ear. “There’s a lock on the door. I’ll understand if using it makes you feel more comfortable, just keep in mind that I won’t be able to get to you quickly if-”

“I’ll keep it unlocked,” she said.

She wet her lips and he stood captivated by the movement for a moment longer before another tremor forced him out of the reverie. “Goodnight then, Swan.”

“Goodnight, Killian.” She gave him a soft, hesitant smile then closed the door.

Killian rested his forehead against the cool, wooden surface and willed himself to remain on this side of the door. His fingers shook as he brought his hands up to unbutton his shirt, and he finally moved away from the door when it came time to remove the remainder of his clothes. Oxytocin flooded his body in an effort to calm the process that Killian now surrendered to. The hormone gave his kind a higher tolerance for the pain, but it did not alleviate it altogether. Killian stifled his own cries as bone, sinew, muscle, and skin rendered its metamorphosis in order to spare his Swan from any further torment, but could hear the other four not offering that same courtesy.

His power of persuasion did not work on those in wolf form, the pack mentality was too strong. Which meant that once the transformations were complete, they’d be at the mercy of fresh harassment from the pack outside. Killian tried to not let that thought distract him as he endured the final agonies that would culminate in his wolf form.

Once the prickling twinges in his skin from the rapid growth of hair that now fully covered his canine body subsided, Killian stood and shook himself. His ears flicked to catch every sound available to him now that he could access higher frequencies, and his nose twitched at the bouquet of scents surrounding him. The most notable being that of the woman currently disrobing in the next room.

Killian reined in the instincts the fresh spark of bloodlust ignited within him and padded towards the sofa. He’d been able to keep his nature at bay while in human form, he could damn well do it as a wolf. He would not harm Emma Swan.

The rustle of leaves outside raised Killian’s hackles. The awareness that intruders had camped themselves at the four corners of his cabin pulled a growl deep from within him, and he bared his teeth at the scratching sound coming from the front door. Howls echoed through the trees from off in the distance and the foursome joined their symphony of strife that was clearly meant to intimidate and frighten the targeted occupants within the cabin.

Granny had told him that only Walsh and his three cohorts had been sanctioned to seek out retribution for the crime he’d committed against them, but it seemed others within their pack had decided to partake in a bit of mental warfare with a barrage of cries that were surely meant to last until sunrise.

Killian swivelled an ear and homed in on his bedroom, attempting to gauge how Emma was faring under the onslaught. The sheets rustled and he heard the clicking of taps against her phone screen before music began to play. She’d apparently turned on a music app in an attempt to drown out the howls reverberating against the night. More rustling from her caught his attention, then the music suddenly stopped. Perhaps she had put in earbuds to help further dampen the cacophony?

Clever lass.

Killian settled onto the couch, on guard for any signs that Walsh and the others were trying to make their way inside. He felt reasonably sure there was no way for them to do that, but he wasn’t taking any chances. As the howling continued outside, Killian alternated his focus between it and the soft cadence of Swan’s breathing. The rhythm wasn’t even enough for her to be asleep yet, not that he expected her to be, but it was calmer than before. The earbuds must be working.

Gradually over the course of the night many of the pack’s noises subsided, and Emma finally drifted off to sleep. Once he deduced that at least two of the intruders had done the same, Killian curled himself up and began to doze as well. He couldn’t be sure how long he’d slept before a new sound woke him. Ears perked, Killian lifted his head and surveyed the room. A quick sniff to the air told him that rain was on its way, but it wasn’t close enough yet for the thunder to have woken him up. So what had?

There it was again; a distinct sniffling sound coming from the next room, followed by a whimper. That’s when he heard the next noise. A growl.

Killian sprang from the couch and loped to the bedroom door. Lifting himself onto his hind legs, he pushed down on the lever handle with his paw and nuzzled his way through the door. Emma sat up startled and reached for the silver spray that still sat on the bedside table. Killian skidded to a halt and caught her gaze, panic reflected in both of their eyes. Emma was clearly distraught, her eyes wide and red rimmed with a slight sparkle from the moonlight streaming in through the skylight.

“Killian?” she whispered hesitantly.

He inched forward and nuzzled her wrist with his nose in response. Her scent washed over him, it didn’t inflame his senses with bloodlust this time. Instead he felt a primal need to protect, to defend what was his. To offer comfort and security. To end whatever threat was causing her distress, which reminded him of the growling. He stalked toward the windows, a deep growl of his own emanating from the back of his throat. After a few moments of posturing with his unseen foe, it grew silent on the other side of the curtained window. Killian waited a moment more before turning back to the bed where Emma was still upright, her body tense and emotions raw.

“The, uh… the battery died,” she said, holding up her phone which still had her earbuds plugged in. “I don’t know why I let it get to me. The growling, I mean. It just…” Her chin quivered and she turned her head to brush away fresh tears, probably hoping he wouldn’t notice and forgetting the acuity of his night vision in this form. “Thanks for, uh, for handling it. I’ll be okay now. You don’t need to stay.”

Killian cocked his head to one side and huffed. Like hell he was going to leave her alone now.

Gently, he leapt onto the bed and circled the empty space next to her before finding a comfortable place to lie down. He felt the bed shift beneath him as Emma settled back under the covers. He’d almost fallen back asleep when he felt her hand run along his side, petting his coarse, black fur from his shoulders to his haunches. A satisfied rumble vibrated through his chest at the knowledge that she felt comfortable enough to touch him in this form, and he raised his head to offer a grateful lick to the back of her hand.

Emma chortled sleepily, “Thank you for staying.”

Her hand came to rest along his ribs and her breathing evened out moments later. Killian repositioned his head so he could watch her as she slept. Her blonde locks glowed silver, and her face was free of the worry and strain that had beset it earlier. Killian didn’t think he’d ever met a more stunning creature than Emma Swan. She was tough and brave and beautiful and strong. He’d known her for less than a day, but he couldn’t deny what his instincts had been telling him from the moment of their meeting.

He would go to the ends of the world for her. Which was fitting, seeing as how after that day, he had nowhere else to go.

* * *

Emma groaned and stretched. The patter of rain urged her to snuggle back beneath the covers before she could open her eyes to the day. She rolled and clutched the extra pillow in her arms. A contented sigh left her, but as her lungs filled themselves with the surrounding air she was struck by the scent that brimmed her sinuses. The events of the day before came barreling into her consciousness and her eyes popped open.

A pang of disappointment ran through her at the realization the wolf was no longer with her. Though, he probably wasn’t in wolf form any longer. Emma rolled on her back, looked up at the skylight and day beyond, but could only make out a haze of stormy clouds through the droplets that had collected on the glass. It felt late, and after the cries and howls that had haunted her throughout the night, the soothing quiet of the morning’s precipitation was almost unnerving.

Emma peeled back the covers and padded over to the still shrouded picture window. She drew the curtain back and peered out at the sheets of rain making their way through the canopy above. Lightning flashed a second before the boom of thunder shook the cabin, startling Emma. Which apparently alerted a member of the menacing pack to her position; for just as she recovered from the start the storm had given her, a giant, teeth baring, snarling wolf lunged at the window before her.

Emma gasped and stumbled backward, hitting the hard planes of Killian’s chest behind her. Strong arms circled her waist and warm breath caressed her neck as he assured her, “It’s just me, love. You’re safe.” Emma melted against him, all thoughts of the danger outside pushed aside in favor of savoring the feel of his arms and the security she found there.

“You alright there, Swan?”

His inquiry broke through the pleasant reverie and Emma suddenly felt self-conscious at having her back plastered against his chest. Stepping out of his embrace, she took a steadying breath and was hit with the rich mix of masculinity she’d been appreciating since he’d first leaned over to take a look at her engine. Had that really been just yesterday?

“Swan?” he prompted.

Emma realized she’d never responded. She’d been too caught up in his scent to register the question. “Yeah, uh… s-sorry.” She took another step back and shook the cobwebs from her head. “I can’t… I can’t think clearly when you’re around.”

Killian reached back and scratched behind his ear as he admitted, “It’s the pheromones. They’re always a bit more… potent during a full moon.”

“So you don’t always smell this good?”

“Are you suggesting that I smell good?” He drew his bottom lip between his teeth and teased his brows at her, causing heat to rush towards her cheek. He chuckled at the evident blush that had bloomed across her face. “It’s alright, Swan. I know what you meant.” His gaze softened and he studied her closely. “How are you this morning, though? How are you feeling after… last night?”

“Fine,” she blurted. He cocked his head and gave her the same skeptical look his wolf-self had the night before. It was uncanny how much of his personality translated between both forms. “Okay, maybe not fine, but I’m hanging in there, or… whatever.”

“I hope my presence didn’t detract from you getting some decent rest,” he commented with a heavy dose of self-castigation set on brows and in his tone.

“No,” Emma assured, reaching out to place a hand on his arm. “Not at all. I… I appreciated you being there.” His smile returned, as did the longing within her to be wrapped in his arms again. Emma cleared her throat and asked, “How long have you been up?”

“Since a little after dawn,” he replied. “My body defaults back to my human form when the sun rises, so I was awakened by the transformation. The relaxed state of slumber makes it a much easier to endure, but it’s difficult to fall back asleep once its complete.” A wash of red swept up his neck and tipped his ears as he continued. “Plus, there was the small matter of my being naked afterward.”

Emma’s eyes widened and she felt her heart rate pick up speed. The knowledge that she had been in bed with a naked Killian Jones sent a swoop through her belly that settled between her legs. She felt her breathing labor as she wet her lips; an action that was met with a quirked brow from the man before her. The man who wasn’t really a man, but a werewolf. A werewolf with heightened senses that could probably deduce rather easily the effect he was having on her.

“So, you got up after you transformed?”

An amused grin broke across his face, and both brows engaged at the humor he found in her question. “Something like that,” he responded cheekily, eyeing her up and down with an overly salacious look.

Emma flushed in mortification over the implication of her words. “That’s not what I meant!”

“No? Well, that’s a pity,” he teased as he took a step towards her. “There are a number of things I’d like to _get up_ to with you.” Emma swallowed heavily and found it hard to draw in a full breath. Her eyes landed on his lips, intently watching as his tongue swept along the lower before he drew it between his teeth. “For example,” he murmured huskily, “might you feel _up_ to having,” he paused and Emma was sure her heart was about to hammer out of her chest. Desperation for him to finish his request, so she could simply agree to whatever he wanted coursed through her, “a _bite_ with me?”

_Wait, what?!_

Emma huffed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. He’d been teasing her. Of course he’d been teasing her, making her think he had something more torrid in mind than having a bite to eat. She gave him a withering glare, which only broadened his grin, but not before she caught a look of something within his eyes. Something that had her second guessing her assessment that he’d been teasing. That’s when she realized he hadn’t said _a bite to eat_ , he’d just said _a bite_.

“Apologies, Swan,” he said with a chuckle. “I couldn’t resist. Now, what say you to a spot of lunch? I’m afraid you’ve slept through any reasonable hour for breakfast, as it’s already 11:30, but we could manage an early lunch if you’d like.”

“As long as I can still have a cup of coffee, I’m good,” Emma agreed, relieved that her pulse seemed to be normalizing, along with her breathing, now that he’d taken a few steps toward the door.

“I think I can arrange that,” he replied. “Take all the time you need to tend to your usual routine and I’ll have a cup waiting for you.”

Killian shut the door behind him, and an ache immediately set into what felt like the very center of her being. What the hell was going on with her? So much had happened in such a short span of time, and Emma was still trying to reconcile everything she’d experienced, felt, and decided upon since meeting Killian Jones. He had her considering things she never would have thought herself capable. Like accepting his help and getting in his truck in the first place, or agreeing to stay with him over the course of the full moon knowing full well what he was, even allowing him to sleep beside her in his wolf form. Not to mention her admission that she was going to choose to see the best in him. It all boiled down to one thing.

Trust.

She absolutely trusted the man, and that might have been the most perplexingly scary thing she’d faced since… well… in a long time. Which was saying something considering the pack of wolves outside ready to tear out both of their throats.

Emma pushed the tempest from her mind and focused on getting herself cleaned up. It had become her habit to always carry some necessities with her, a hold over from her days in foster care when she learned to keep her belongings close because circumstances could change quickly. So, although she’d left her overnight bag in the bug, she had a spare toothbrush, deodorant, and change of underwear in the bag she’d brought with her.

She’d slept in her t-shirt and the leggings she also kept in her bag, but opted to change back into her jeans. Killian had said she was welcome to anything of his, so she took that as permission to peruse his closet for a fresh shirt, and his chest of drawers for warmer socks. Slipping the soft fabric over her head, Emma relished the now familiar aroma and couldn’t help the smile it brought to her face to be surrounded by his scent. She was absolutely losing her mind, but at least she’d be comfortable doing it.

It dawned on her as she exited the bedroom that she hadn’t heard any evidence of the pack since one of them had lunged at the window earlier. Killian was in the beginning stages of getting a fire started, and she was about to ask him about the pack when she heard the sound of something tromping across the roof.

Emma snapped her head up at the ceiling. “Is that them?” she asked incredulously.

“Aye,” Killian answered. “I wondered how long it would take them to gain access to the roof. I suspect they manipulated the wood pile to create something of a ladder.”

Flames began to dance along the hearth once Killian succeeded in getting the kindling lit. A thought dawned on Emma as she watched him place a few logs on the growing fire.

“Did you start a fire so they can’t get in that way?”

“The Big Bad Wolf get in through the chimney? Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.” he quipped with a smirk and a wink.

Emma rolled her eyes while trying to suppress her amusement. “You did not just make a Three Little Pigs joke.”

“Oh, come now, Swan. That was quality drollery, and you know it.”

“Sure… if I knew what drollery meant,” she sassed. “That course you teach isn’t about using antiquated language in everyday conversation, is it?”

“It might interest you to know that I’ve lived during a time when that antiquated language _was_ used in everyday conversation. Werewolves are long-lifers.”

“So, what are you? Like… almost a hundred or something?”

“Closer to two actually.”

Emma’s brows shot up at that news. “Wait, what? I thought werewolves only lived to upwards of three to four hundred years old. You don’t look more than thirty in human years. If you’re really two hundred, then you should you look closer to sixty since it takes about three and half years for werewolves to physically age one.”

“You’re full of compliments this morning, love,” he skirted. “First telling me you like how I smell, and now saying I look good for my age. A man could develop quite the ego in your company.”

“I don’t think you need my help with that,” she jabbed. “And don’t think I didn’t notice how you avoided my question.”

“What question?” he asked innocently. “I seem to remember you merely pointing out the average lifespan of werewolves, and the ratio of wolf to human years. I don’t remember a question being posed.”

Emma opened her mouth to pose the very question he seemed to be avoiding when a loud thud echoed from above their heads, reminding them of the beastly problem that was quite literally on top of them.

“Bloody hell,” Killian muttered under his breath. “I’m going to have to do something about the skylight.”

“The skylight?”

“Aye. They can’t get through it, but I don’t think either of us want them to be able to peer down into the bedroom while you sleep.”

“Uh, no. Definitely not.”

“Stay here and I’ll go find a way to cover it. You’re welcome to get started on lunch if it’ll help you take your mind off of… things.”

As Killian retreated into the bedroom, Emma wondered which things he hoped to take her mind off of. The wolves, or his continued evasiveness. She reminded herself that she’d agreed to let him tell her things in his own time, and that they were really little more than strangers to one another. Although… Emma couldn’t help but admit that he didn’t feel like a stranger to her. Even still, it wasn’t as if she’d been an open book with him, either. She wasn’t sure she was ready to share her story anymore than he appeared to be, so she’d do exactly what she’d promised him she’d do. She’d wait.

While she made lunch.

Emma found the coffee he’d made for her on the counter, along with a number of ingredients that suggested tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were on the day’s menu. She began slicing cheese when she heard murmured utterances along with the muffled sound of hammering. Every so often she would catch expressions like _sod off, fleabag,_ and _bloody Bittens_ and could only assume he was engaging with whichever wolf, or wolves, had taken up residence on the roof. The soup was just starting to simmer and the sandwiches were browning on the stove when he emerged from the room.

“Something smells good.”

“It’s just the soup and grilled cheese.”

“I didn’t mean the food,” he whispered into her ear, the warmth of his body radiating onto her back.

Emma gasped, her actions stilled by his words as she waited anxiously for him to make the next move.

“Anyway, that ought to do the trick,” he shared, stepping back from her, making her miss him instantly even as she cursed him under her breath for his continued teasing. “I nailed an old blanket to the ceiling. It’ll be rather dark in there tonight, but at least you won’t have any unwelcomed voyeurs.”

“As opposed to welcomed ones?” she questioned with a raised brow.

“Point taken. Although,” he purred, “voyeurism can be quite welcomed under the right circumstances.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She wasn’t taking the bait this time.

“Feel free to take more than my word from me, love. Though,” he looked her up and down before raising his own brow, “it seems you already have.”

“Hey, you said I was welcome to your stuff,” she reminded.

“That I did,” he relented. “And I must say, my shirt looks quite fetching on you.” Emma’s capillaries were going to burst if her cheeks kept blushing like this. “Shall we eat?”

They tucked themselves into hearty bowls of soup and gooey sandwiches of cheesy goodness while listening to the continued downpour outside. The thuds had ceased from the roof, and Killian suspected the pack had found some place to wait out the remaining storm where they could still keep watch.

After finishing their meal, they worked together to clean up the kitchen before retiring to the living room, agreeing to spend the afternoon reading. Emma was washing up the final pieces of cutlery when the knife she’d used on the cheese slipped from her soapy grasp. Without thinking she grabbed for it before it could fall to the floor, catching it by the blade and slicing her hand in the process.

“Son of a bitch!” she exclaimed as the knife clattered against the floor.

“Swan? Are you-”

Fixated on the blood dripping from her hand, Emma didn’t notice the change that had come over Killian.

“Your hand. It’s cut,” he whispered.

Emma stuck her hand under the cool water running at the faucet and assured, “It’s fine.”

“No. It’s not,” he replied tensely.

“Sure it is. See?”

Emma held out her hand to him. He stiffened and took a startled breath in as his eyes suddenly flashed red. Alarmed by the flicker of crimson, Emma watched as his tongue swept over his upper teeth. That’s when she saw them.

Fangs.

Emma stumbled backward, but Killian caught her by the wrist with reflexes more acute than she’d ever seen. His gaze was fixed firmly on the cut on her hand, and Emma watched in paralyzed fascination as Killian’s tongue slowly wet his lips. Whether by fear, or some forbidden intrigue that had her pulse racing with curious anticipation, Emma couldn’t say. All she knew was that when he started to bring her hand up towards his mouth, she didn’t, _couldn’t_ , pull away.

If anything, she wanted to draw closer to him.

Emma didn’t know what she’d expected him to do, but bending his head to inhale deeply over her wrist surprised her. The tip of his nose and slightly parted lips ghosted over her skin as his eyes fluttered shut while he savored her scent. An experience that sent a ripple of wonder over her entire body.

She drew in a stuttered breath and his eyes snapped open. His pupils were blown wide with only a faint rim of midnight outlining them. She recognized the heat of his gaze, the predatory expression. It was lust, but not the kind she would usually attribute to a man who looked wantonly at a woman he desired. This was different.

Blood lust.

But werewolves didn’t experience blood lust in human form.

“Killian?” Emma exhaled, her fear now overriding her captivation.

His name and her tone shook him from whatever state had taken hold of him, and he released her wrist as if it had burned him. Red flashed in his eyes again and he spun around, putting his back to her as he anchored himself to the counter.

“Swan,” he whispered in a strained voice. “I need you to go lock yourself in my room and tend to that wound.”

“Killian, what...?” she questioned breathlessly.

“Please, Emma. Go,” he grit out. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Emma heeded his words and hurried toward the bedroom, stumbling slightly as she rounded the island. Before closing the door, she looked back at Killian and watched as he peeled off his shirt. The muscles in his back rippled under his skin and Emma realized he was forcing himself to transform.

A pained moan escaped his lips before he grunted, “Lock the door, Emma.”

She did as instructed.

* * *

It had been hours since Emma had sequestered herself in Killian’s room. She’d stupidly gone to his bathroom first in search of something to disinfect and bandage the cut on her hand, forgetting that as a werewolf, or whatever he was, Killian wouldn’t have need of those things. His body healed too quickly to have use of them. Fortunately, she kept a small first-aid kit in her bag which had her patched up in no time.

With nothing more to distract her, Emma had listened at the door as Killian completed his transformation. She could only guess that he’d hoped to have more control over the blood lust her wound had sparked within him while in his wolf form. The agitated whimpers and unsettled movements that had followed didn’t seem to support that theory, though. Neither did the frantic scratches that alternated between the door and the floor just outside it; behaviour that had whipped the other wolves into a frenzy, causing them to mimic the actions at the bedroom windows and on the roof above.

She knew he could have gotten through the door if he’d really wanted to, so she took comfort in the fact that his wolf nature seemed to be winning the war against the bloodlust. It had taken some time for him to settle himself, but once he did, the others started to abandon their tactics as well. Now things were quiet, minus the persisting rain that was still coming down like cats and...

Emma sat with her back against the door and tried to reconcile what she’d seen with what she knew. Killian was a werewolf. She’d seen him in his wolf state, had felt the softness of his coat, and had recognized the man within from the same forget-me-not eyes that had stared back at her while he was curled up at her side. He had a heightened sense of smell, hearing, and sight like all werewolves did. But then again… so did _other_ species of arcane creatures.

Other species that masqueraded as humans, though they possessed great strength, sharp senses, and even sharper fangs. Creatures whose eyes flashed red when the call of bloodlust became too great to ignore, who could manipulate the weaker, mortal minded, and didn’t age.

But Killian couldn’t be one of _them._ Could he? It was impossible. Right?

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, as they’d done on and off again for the past few hours. She didn’t know what to do. There was a pack of vengeful wolves outside the cabin, and something she didn’t even know how to classify in the next room. What if he couldn’t regain control? What if he had to stay in wolf form for the remainder of the full moon? Was he still safe to be around in his transformed state?

A soft knock at the door jarred Emma from her thoughts.

“Swan?”

The sound of his voice had her scrambling to her feet, and for a brief moment she nearly complied with her instinct to open the door.

“I know you’re just on the other side of the door.” He sounded wrecked and exhausted. Emma’s heart constricted in her chest at the defeated tone that laced his words. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I should have… I should have told you sooner. Please believe that I never meant to put you in harm’s way. I thought… I thought I could control it.”

“Control what, exactly?” Emma questioned with a bit more severity than she’d meant to. “Killian, after what I saw in the kitchen, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you were a… a vampire. But you can’t be. You’re a werewolf. I’ve seen it. So what are you?”

“I’m both,” Killian confessed quietly. “A hybrid.”

“H-How is that even possible? I didn’t think vampire blood was capable of turning a werewolf anymore than transformative bites from a werewolf could change a vampire.”

“It isn’t.”

“Then how?”

“Best guess,” he offered. “It happened when a vampire attacked and killed my entire family while I was still in my mother’s womb.”

“Oh, Killian.” Emma closed her eyes at the horror he’d just spoken of, and turned to rest her head against the door. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, I… I _want_ to. I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”

She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him that she wasn’t afraid of him, but they both knew that wasn’t the complete truth. The still firmly closed and locked door attested to that. She’d put her trust in him only to have it met with a horrific truth that was so unfathomable she’d never even thought to question her safety when she’d injured herself. A mistake that could have cost her life.

But it hadn’t.

Killian had fought against his nature to the point of exchanging one for the other in the hopes that he wouldn’t hurt her. He could have drained her of every ounce of blood in her body. Could have forced her to drink his with the intent to turn her. He’d slept beside her in wolf form and she’d never once felt a twinge of worry that he’d turn on her while she slept. Why was she so willing to put her faith in his wolf nature, but not the… other one?

Emma knew exactly why. It was because of _him_. The only man Emma had ever opened herself up to, only to find out he wasn’t a man at all. Emma shuddered at the memory and swallowed back the bile thoughts of that man always brought up.

“Swan?” Killian called out softly from the other side of the door. A door he could have ripped off its hinges by now. _He_ would have, but Killian wasn’t _him_.

Emma released the lock and turned the knob. Killian stood on the other side, a look of contrition and concern on his face as his eyes searched hers.

“I don’t want to be afraid of you either.”

**END PART ONE**


	2. Part Two

**PART TWO**

“I don’t want to be afraid of you either.”

Killian stood speechless at her declaration. He’d been sure that he’d shattered her trust in him beyond repair. Never imagined she’d offer him a chance to explain, much less open the door. He forced himself to keep his hands at his sides despite the need that itched in his palms and ached in his arms to reach out and hold her. He could hear her pulse pounding in his ears and her anxiety was palpable. She may not _want_ to fear him, but he knew they had a ways to go before that want became a reality again.

If it ever could.

“Would you, uh, care to join me in the living room?” he asked tentatively. “I’ll answer any question. Tell you anything you want to know.”

Emma nodded wordlessly before he took several steps back to provide her a wide berth past him to the adjoining room. He waited until she chose to take a seat on the sofa closest to the fire, (and the heavy fireplace tools now located within arms reach from the hearth, not that he begrudged her that small comfort), before he took a seat in the club chair at the other end of the space.

Killian shifted uncomfortably in the silence that stretched on between them, determined to say nothing for fear it would fracture the fragile atmosphere surrounding them. He resigned to once again wait and let her take the lead.

“So, if you’re both,” she began softly, “A werewolf _and_ a vampire. Do you… do you have both sets of abilities?”

Though she hadn’t so much as spared him a glance during her question, Killian could read her well enough to know what she was really asking.

What other threat might he pose to her?

“Not fully,” he answered. “I have all the traits you’d expect from a werewolf, as that is my born nature. The vampire side of me is… incomplete? I guess you’d say?”

“Incomplete how?”

“I don’t require a protective amulet in order to move about freely in the daylight, and though I do on occasion… crave blood. I do not require it for survival. _My_ blood also has the power to heal the wounds of others, but with the standard side-effects if ingested.”

“Including turning someone?” she asked accusingly, her tone catching him off guard.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve never tried.”

Her eyes flicked up and met his. He could see hurt and anger swirling in their green depths, but he got the sense that those emotions were not directed towards him.

“What about persuasion?”

Her stare bore into his, and Killian was almost afraid to answer. Swallowing thickly he replied, “Aye. Persuasion, too.”

“Have you ever tried to persuade me?”

The question seemed to catch in her throat, causing her gaze to drop to the floor. Fresh guilt washed over him as he nodded in shame. “At the diner. I used it on everyone, hoping it would keep things from escalating too far.” His brow furrowed as he remembered her response. “But it didn’t seem to work on you.”

She brought her hand up absentmindedly and grasped the swan pendant he’d noticed she wore. “Was that the only time?”

Killian sat forward and tried to get her to meet his eyes, but she refused. He swore at himself. Of course she wouldn’t want to look him in the eye when they were discussing his ability to control her mind, will, and emotions.

“I swear to you, Emma. I have not attempted to control you in any way other than the moment in the diner. Every choice you’ve made since we met has been entirely your own.”

After several agonizing moments, Emma lifted her head to look at him. Killian’s breath rushed from his lungs in relief when she offered him a quick nod, signifying her acceptance of his word.

“Is that what all this is really about, then?” she pressed on. “Because you used your power of persuasion over other werewolves?”

“Aye.”

Emma shook her head then bolted out of her seat, taking an angry step toward him. “Then why did you let me think it was all my fault?” she shouted. “If all of this,” she gestured around her, “has nothing to do with me, then why didn’t you make sure I left when I had the chance?”

“I didn’t say you had nothing to do with it, Swan,” Killian countered back. “I had every reason to believe that at least one of those wolves would have gone after you, and I seem to recall giving you every chance to leave. You were the one who insisted on staying.”

“Because I thought I had brought this down on you! I thought I owed it to you that you not have to face them alone!”

Killian could see a shimmer of tears in her eyes, and against his better judgement, he stood and took a step toward her. “I know Swan, and I’m sorry.” His action caused her to take a skittish step back. The pain of her rejection tore through him, but he pushed it aside. “I should have made you go, but I…” He couldn’t tell her the real reason he hadn’t forced the issue. Not yet, anyway. “I do believe you were better off staying here, though. One of them would have gone after you. At least this way, _you_ didn’t have to face them alone.”

“Why?” Emma questioned skeptically. “Why are you so sure they would have come after me?”

“To answer that, I’ll need to tell you a bit more about the charter I mentioned yesterday.” He gestured toward the sofa, inviting her to sit back down, and returned to his seat after she reluctantly complied.

“Fine. Tell me about the charter, _Professor_ ,” she sassed.

“The charter was first established when the town was founded in 1695, a few years after the witch trials. I’m sure you’re aware that the events in Salem caused a number of arcane creatures to head north in order to escape persecution themselves.” She gave him a look to confirm that she did indeed know all about the event. “With so many packs in such a small geographical location, a number of peace treaties and charters were established in order to keep the peace and ensure our kind remained concealed. Over the centuries the charters have been amended many times. Social climates and customs have changed, migrations have occurred, alliances have been made and broken, all of these things require an alteration to the spirit and language of the documents.”

“What does any of that have to do with me?” she asked curtly.

“About eighty years ago, the Storybrooke charter was held between three packs. Then something… happened. Something too terrible to speak of. What’s important is that once it was all over, one pack had been completely decimated, and the other two both lost their Alphas.” Emma’s demeanor softened compassionately at the news of such devastating loss. “One pack had a natural successor, but the other was left to the mercy of in-fighting that dwindled their numbers even further. In an effort to restore the balance, the crippled pack was allowed to engage in an old, and formally outlawed practice.” Killian closed his eyes, unable to give voice to the distasteful tradition.

“What practice?” Emma prompted gently, clearly aware of the discomfort the subject brought him.

“Conscription,” Killian spat. “Forced recruitment by administering a transformative bite against one’s will. I told you the Oz pack was made up of mostly Bittens. That is how they replenished their numbers.”

A look of disgust came over Emma’s face. “That’s horrible! How on earth did they get away with that? Without the outside world noticing all those missing people?”

“It was The Depression, love,” he reminded her softly. “Millions upon millions of displaced and desperate people. Easy for anyone to go missing. Which is horrific enough when you don’t consider _how_ they went missing.”

“By becoming werewolves against their will,” she commiserated.

“If they were lucky,” Killian muttered darkly.

“What do you mean?”

Now they had come to the part that had to do with what had happened in the diner. Killian met Emma’s confused gaze with as much tenderness and compassion as he could muster. This wasn’t going to be easy to hear.

“Every pack has a certain… vibe or character. A certain culture within it. One of the reasons conscription became so widely used in the werewolf community is because, unlike with Borns who earn their place within the pack as a matter of birthright, regardless of whether or not they fit the mold, packs could find new members who were more… compliant with toeing the line. Unfortunately, you couldn’t always tell right away if a certain human would be the right fit.”

“How does a pack decide if a person is the right fit or not?”

“By scent,” Killian answered. “Whether or not that person’s scent melds well with the rest of the pack. The best time to determine that is-”

“During the full moon,” she finished for him, understanding of where his explanation was heading registered in her expression.

“The practice allowed pack members to bring potential, unwitting recruits into town on the first day of the full moon. If it was decided that the person was a proper fit, they were given the transformative bite. Males would fight over the women who were brought into town as potential mates.”

“And those who didn’t make the cut,” Emma asked apprehensively.

Killian’s jaw clenched, the muscles ticking madly before he answered, “They were offered up as blood sport.”

“So, when Walsh found out that you brought me into town on the first day of the full moon he thought you meant to-”

“No,” Killian stated emphatically. “Even Walsh knows I’d never resort to such a thing… but _he_ would.” Killian took a chance and moved over to the sofa, seating himself at the farthest end from her. He didn’t wish to put her on guard again, but he wanted - _needed_ \- to be closer to her so maybe she’d be able to see the sincerity brimming within him. “All I wanted to do was get your car fixed and get you out of town. For your own safety. But my intentions don’t matter to Walsh or the rest of his pack. They saw an opportunity to strike a blow against me and they tried to take it. Conscription hasn’t been in practice here since just after World War II, but it is still sanctioned under certain conditions within the current charter. It’s never been updated properly. But as I’m not a part of either pack, I have no rights under the charter, and Walsh knows that. He would have used the charter to force conscription on you just to torture me.”

“Why, though? Why does he hate you so badly?”

“Because of what I am,” he said matter-of-factly. “Emma, there’s never been a documented account of something like me ever existing before. Being a hybrid, it’s… it’s unheard of. Being fearful of, or hating that which you don’t understand isn’t just a human characteristic, you know.”

Emma turned her body toward him and tucked her legs underneath herself. Killian felt the corners of his mouth tick up, but suppressed the smile threatening to break across his face. Emma was just starting to open up to him again and he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. She wet her lips and swallowed tentatively before focusing them on her next topic of interest; one she seemed hesitant to broach.

“You said your best guess as to how it happened was when a...” she paused, clearly torn in wanting to ask him to relay the terrible story.

“He was a sadistic bastard.” Killian took a deep breath, fortifying himself for the tale he hadn’t repeated to another soul since Granny had told it to him. “From what I’ve been told, he tortured my family - my father, mother, and brother - for days. Administering severe injuries with instruments fashioned from silver, which negated their natural healing abilities. Instead, he used his own blood to heal them, keeping them alive just enough to continue his evil. It’s believed that my brother succumbed first, then my father. By the time a rescue came, the demon had fled leaving my mother, who was heavily pregnant with me, barely clinging to life.” Killian’s throat tightened and he had to speak past labored breaths to get the rest of the story out. “She begged Granny to save me. She knew I was still alive within her and she pleaded with Granny to get me out. My heart stopped as she… cut me free from my mother, but she was able to revive me.” Hot tears ran unchecked down his cheeks and he had to fight back sobs before he could continue. “Vampire blood doesn’t turn werewolves because we metabolize it so quickly, but somehow, in my unborn state, I had enough of his unmetabolized blood in my system when my heart stopped that it… changed me.”

Killian didn’t know when Emma had moved closer, nor at what point during the telling she had taken his hand, but it mattered not. When she wrapped her arms around him to offer him comfort, he gladly fell into her.

“I’m so sorry, Killian,” she sniffled past her own tears.

Rain lashed against the windows as Emma soothed Killian through the tempest that had been unleashed within him. No one had ever allowed him to truly express his grief. Granny might have understood if Killian had ever granted himself the freedom of such sorrowful displays, but he hadn’t wanted to add to her burden. Now, as chaos whipped and howled outside the cabin, he emptied his hurt in Emma’s embrace. After the last bit of anguish had rendered itself, Killian experienced a peace he’d never known existed, there in his Swan’s arms.

* * *

Emma cradled Killian tightly, silent tears streaming down her face. The anger that had surged through her earlier had completely dissipated, replaced with heartache and empathy for the man who had lost so much. Because Emma knew. She knew exactly how it felt to have everything ripped away from you before you even had a chance to know what it would be like to miss it.

“Killian?” Emma whispered softly after he’d composed himself. He pulled out of her embrace to meet her eyes, inquiry set in his brow as he waited for her to continue. “I was left on the side of the road when I was only a few hours old,” she blurted out.

Killian’s eyes went wide with shock then softened as he assured, “You don’t have to-”

“No, I want to,” she affirmed, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze for emphasis. “I need to. I’ve never told anyone about my past.” She looked down to her lap before amending that lie. “Actually, that’s not true. I told someone once, but he…”

Killian offered back a supportive squeeze to her hand. “Tell me,” he murmured. “I’d like to know more about your beginnings. No matter what they may include.”

Emma took a deep breath and brought her gaze back up to his. “After I was found, I was put into the system, and was adopted almost immediately by a young couple. I was three when… _it_ happened.”

“What?”

“They were murdered.” Killian gasped and closed his eyes mournfully. Emma pressed on before he could say anything in response. “I bounced around for years after that. No one wanted the little girl associated with such an awful event. Kids in the group homes used to call me cursed. It wasn’t until I was much older that I looked into the crime and discovered the truth.” Emma swallowed and braced herself, worried at what Killian’s reaction would be when he learned, “They were attacked and killed by vampires.”

A beat went by as Killian processed the news, a myriad of emotions raced behind his eyes as he fought to keep his composure in order to offer his condolences. “I’m so sorry, Swan.”

Emma shrugged and chewed her lip before responding. “It’s alright. It’s not as if I really remember them anyway. All I have are fragments of memories and sometimes these flashes of… I’m not sure really.”

“What kind of flashes?” Killian asked curiously.

“I see these, um, eyes. Red, glowing eyes. And there’s a smell. Something metallic, but also… fleshy? I’m… I’m pretty sure it’s the attack,” she whispered tightly. “I just don’t understand why it left me alive.”

Emma hadn’t realized that she’d begun to tremble until she felt Killian’s hands run up and down both her arms in a soothing motion. “I wish I had an answer for you,” he said softly. “Could be that it had enough of a conscience to not harm a child, or perhaps you didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?”

A pained and disgusted expression crossed Killian’s face. Emma knew he didn’t want to actually say the words out loud, an apology underpinned his tone as he said. “You might not have appealed to it.”

“Appealed to it?”

Killian stilled his hands, his eyes gauging something in her own before explaining, “Like werewolves, vampires are scent driven. Certain smells inflame the… the bloodlust more than others. So, it’s possible that yours didn’t-”

“Didn’t tempt it like my adoptive parents did,” she finished for him.

Emma wasn’t sure what to do with that information. It had been so long ago, she wasn’t sure the reasons made any sort of difference to her now. The news did spark a new question in her, though.

“Is that what my scent does to you? Inflames the-”

“Not like that,” Killian interjected quickly. “Bloodlust has many forms. It isn’t always just a need to… feed.” He winced slightly as the word left his lips. “Besides, my wolf nature helps to curb that particular demand. Most of the time.”

Those final words were barely audible, and Emma could sense a weight of contrition and regret applied to them that seemed to have nothing to do with her.

“What do you mean, most of the time?”

Killian shifted in his seat, and Emma took the opportunity to readjust her position as well. It seemed sharing time was not over. Not by a long shot.

“I told you that Granny raised me,” he reminded her. “She married into the pack my family was a part of back in England. It became apparent rather quickly that I was… different. I didn’t age as the others did, for one. You were correct, I should appear closer to sixty, but I age at about half the rate of other werewolves. I came into my adolescence about the same time as Ruby, even though she was born decades after I was.”

“Ruby is Granny’s granddaughter?”

“Aye. She was raised by Granny too after her parents died.”

“What happened to them?”

“Cholera epidemic,” he replied. Emma’s brows knit together, and seeing her confusion, Killian elaborated. “Werewolves have the ability to heal quickly from injury, and we can ward off most disease, but we aren’t completely immune. At the turn of the twentieth century, a cholera outbreak ravaged the werewolf population in the UK. It wiped out most of my family’s pack, and claimed Ruby’s parents. After that, Granny decided to bring Ruby and I back here, to her original pack.”

“Granny is from Storybrooke originally?”

“Her family dates back to its founding in 1695,” he informed, a hint of pride tinging his words. “It’s one of the reasons she so well respected. That, and she’s a pretty tough old bird. You should see her with a crossbow.”

It was probably the first time either of them had smiled since they’d began their now lengthy conversation. Emma knew there was still plenty they each wished to share, more revelations that needed to come to light, but she was content to simply sit and enjoy the levity, if even for just a moment.

“So, Granny brought you and Ruby here to Storybrooke. What year was that? How old were you?”

Killian thought for a moment then replied, “About 1908, I think? I hadn’t hit adolescence yet. That happened about 1910.”

“The same time as Ruby?”

“That’s right,” he affirmed. “We both transformed for the first time in the same year. The ability to shift doesn’t happen until late into puberty. That’s also when,” Killian stopped and a cloud of sorrow passed over his features.

“When what?” Emma whispered, offering the question on a gentle breath in the hopes it might provide some comfort to him.

“When my other nature revealed itself,” he answered bitterly.

“You didn’t know before then?” Emma asked incredulously.

“Granny, Ruby, and I knew the attack on my mother had altered me, but no. It wasn’t until I hit adolescence that the fullness of that alteration was discovered.”

Killian’s entire body had gone tense, so Emma placed a hand on his thigh and encouraged, “Tell me.”

He ran a hand down his face, rubbing it against the stubble along his jaw then recounted the tale. “That first year of transition is a volatile one for werewolves. Hormones are out of control, and more often than not aggression runs high. Especially in the males. I was no different. I got into an argument with another male and it escalated to us throwing punches. I landed a left hook and shattered the boy’s nose. Blood gushed everywhere, and it… it triggered the response. The bloodlust completely took over. Three others had to restrain me while they got the other boy away. It was Granny who was able to finally calm me enough to get my fangs to retract and my eyes to return to their normal hue. The other abilities followed quickly after that.”

“What did they do after you tried to attack the other boy?”

“If it weren’t for Granny’s intervention,” Killian’s jaw clenched and released, “they would have killed me.”

Emma gasped, “What?!”

“Werewolves and vampires are natural enemies, Swan. And I possess both natures. An abomination in most of the pack members’ eyes, and someone who couldn’t possibly be trusted. The Oz pack demanded that I be put down, but Granny pleaded on my behalf to her pack’s Alpha.”

“The one Ruby is mate to?”

“No. Ruby’s mate is Graham. They didn’t start courting until she was older. This was Graham’s father.”

Right. Emma had forgotten that Killian and Ruby had come of age the same year.

“So, the alpha? He agreed to Granny’s request?”

“I told you she was a tough old bird.” Killian gave a soft, fond little smile as he lost himself in a moment of reflection for a several seconds. “He agreed to spare my life under one condition.”

“What condition?”

“That I leave Storybrooke and all its surrounding territories,” he replied sadly.

“Oh, Killian,” Emma lamented. “What did you do?”

“What else could I do?” he replied defeatedly. “I left. I went back to England to try and find some answers that might help explain what I am, but every road led to a dead end. My shift had unleashed both of my natures, and other wolves could tell there was something off about me. My scent is… well it isn’t right, so any pack I approached about joining shunned me. By the time the Great War began in 1914 I was pretty destitute, so I thought - why not? At least I’d get three meals a day, and I didn’t really have anything to lose.”

Emma was still hung up on the comment about his scent. She didn’t think she’d ever smelled anything - _anyone_ -more _right_ in her whole life. A thought she’d first found rather odd and disturbing, but now. Now, it made it her wonder at the significance of that reality. That she would respond so strongly to the scent of a man whose nature - _natures_ \- relied so heavily on such permeations themselves. She forced herself to push aside the bits of knowledge she’d collected in her research that now began to knit themselves together into some sort of answer, an answer she wasn’t sure she was ready to consider, and instead brought her attention back to Killian’s story.

“You served in World War I?”

“Aye. I wanted to join the navy, but transforming at sea on a ship full of sailors didn’t seem like a good idea, so I enlisted in the army instead. Got up to the rank of captain before it was all over.” A hint of pride echoed in his words, despite his still melancholy demeanor.

“So, if the alpha forced you to leave Storybrooke, how did you end up back here?”

A cunning little smile broke through his features as he answered, “Ruby. She and Granny had planned to go back to England as soon as the war was over so I wouldn’t be alone, but Graham had started pursuing her. She told him that she’d agree to stay and be his mate only if he’d let me return to Storybrooke when he became alpha. He accepted her terms, though, he probably thought he’d have more time before he’d have to make good on that promise.”

“You mean, the event that took out one of the packs and killed the others’ alphas?” Killian nodded. “You said that happened during The Depression, so is that when you came back?”

Killian cleared his throat uncomfortably. “No. I, uh. I had something I had to take care of first.”

Emma watched as he flexed and released his hands a number of times, a mixture of rage and regret rolling off him.

“You found him, didn’t you,” Emma said knowingly. “The vampire that killed your family.”

“Aye,” Killian clipped.

“How?” Emma scooted closer, undeterred by his countenance. Somehow, she just knew he would need the comfort of her presence.

“There was a soldier in my regiment. He and I became mates from almost the first moment we met. Like me, he too had a secret.”

“He was a werewolf?” Emma guessed.

“No. He was a vampire,” Killian corrected.

“Did he know that you were…?”

“I kept my werewolf side hidden from him,” Killian replied. “I hadn’t had much success fitting in with my born nature, and his quick camaraderie made me think that perhaps, I could find a place among the other side.”

Emma smiled at the knowledge that Killian had found a friend, a feeling of belonging, but it faltered when she considered how alone he was now. “Things didn’t go as you had hoped, huh?”

“Not entirely, no.” He reached up and scratched behind his ear before carrying on. “Before things went south between us, we discovered something about the kinship we both felt we shared. Turns out that bond we had was actually… a Sire Bond.”

Emma’s eyes went wide with understanding. “You were both turned by the same vampire?”

Killian nodded slowly before divulging, “The same vampire, who was also the lad’s father.”

Emma’s face contorted in outrage. “He turned his own son?”

“It seems while they were mortal, the boy’s mother died. His father became obsessed with finding a way to cheat death. He maintained it was so his son would never have to be alone, but the boy knew better. He pleaded with his father, asked him not to become this thing they’d both once reviled, but the man didn’t listen. Not only that he… he waited until the boy grew into a young man then turned him in secret without the lad’s consent.”

Emma felt the blood drain from her face. The room spun as she forgot to draw breath, and Killian’s worried voice sounded muffled against the thundering of her pulse in her ears.

“Swan?” Killian called out frantically, taking her face in his hands. “What is it? Did I do-”

Emma drew a deep breath into her lungs and screwed her eyes shut. “No, no. It wasn’t you. I’m… I’m fine. It’s fine.”

“Like hell it is,” Killian argued. “You’ve gone as white as a fresh sail. Do you need to lie down, love?”

“A fresh sail? I thought you said you didn’t join the navy,” she quipped playfully, hoping to distract him even as her eyes remained closed so she could concentrate on calming herself.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t still hold a fondness for the sea and all things nautical, and stop trying to change the subject.”

Emma giggled at his disgruntled tone even as she continued to focus on taking steadying breaths. She hummed appreciatively at the feel of his thumbs skimming across the apples of her cheeks, and finally opened her eyes when her heart began strumming a more even rhythm. The concern in his eyes nearly stole her newly cultivated breath.

“Would you, uh. Would you mind getting me some water?” she croaked, her throat tight and parched from both her reaction and his response.

Emma took the opportunity while Killian was up getting her the requested drink to reassess her surroundings. Though the brunt of the storm seemed to have passed, there was still a light patter of rain resonating from the roof and windows. She chanced a peek out the curtains and was surprised to see no trace of wolf presence, filing away a note to ask Killian what he thought they might be up to later on. Not much later, though. The clock on the mantle told her it was already approaching early evening, and the sun would be setting before too much longer.

* * *

“Here. Drink up.”

Killian handed her the glass of water then returned to his seat on the couch, scrutinizing everything from her complexion to the rate of her pulse with his keen senses. He waited until she drank her fill before posing the question he’d put together in his mind from all the hints she’d alluded to over the past twenty-four hours.

“It was about _him_ , wasn’t it?”

Emma’s eyes went wide, the look of a startled and caged animal swept over her features, and her mouth hung slack before she composed herself enough to reply.

“What was about who?”

“Your anxiety attack,” Killian clarified. “It wasn’t about what I’d told you. It was in response to something you’d experienced for yourself. With the vampire you mentioned yesterday? Was he the other person you shared your story with?”

Emma leaned over and set the water glass on the coffee table, her heart rate gearing up again, but not alarmingly so. She wet her lips and answered, “Yes. I met him not too long after I discovered the truth about my adoptive parents’ deaths. I didn’t know what he was when we met. I didn’t find out until after.”

“After what?” Killian asked delicately, unsure if he was ready to hear her response.

It seemed she wasn’t ready to just come out and say it, either. Choosing instead to take him through her relationship with the man from the very beginning. How she’d met him as she was trying to steal the car he’d already stolen - the very vehicle that had brought the two of them together the day before. The life of petty crime they’d shared as they robbed gas stations and squatted in hotel rooms, a veritable Bonnie and Clyde, swept up in the romance of them against the world. Until something changed.

“He said he wanted to settle down, plant some roots, so we got steady jobs and an apartment together.”

“Is that when you got into bail bonds?” Killian asked.

“Sort of,” she hedged. “I wanted to try and find my birth parents, so I ended up going to a local P.I. for help. We never could find anything, but when he learned what happened to my adoptive parents he introduced me to a woman who made her living tracking down criminal arcane creatures.” She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and shifted uncomfortably. “Neal didn’t want me working with an organization like that, but I had hoped it would eventually lead me to my adoptive parents’ killer, so I hid it from him. He thought I just went after skips, and I did… I just also went after the occasional werewolf, vampire, witch, and warlock as well.”

“That’s how you gleaned all your knowledge,” Killian commented. “By working with this woman?”

“Cleo. She gave me all these papers and journals to read written by a professor who was an expert-” Emma stopped and cocked her head to one side as she stared at Killian, coming to the same realization he just had. “Oh, my god! Dr. Jones, I presume?! Those were _your_ papers, weren’t they?”

Killian scratched the back of his ear, a blush creeping up his neck. “Most likely. There aren’t many others in the field who would have given you any useful information to assist in your endeavors of tracking and subduing all manner of arcane creatures.”

“It _was_ useful,” she stated emphatically. A sudden shimmer formed in her eyes, catching Killian off guard. He wasn’t sure his papers warranted such a response. “If it weren’t for your papers, I might not have realized what was happening until it was too late.”

Dread prickled along Killian’s skin and his stomach turned with apprehension. “Realized what, love?”

A tear slid down Emma’s cheek, her gaze full of gratitude he had no idea how he’d earned until she spoke. “That he was using his persuasion on me, and lacing my morning coffee with his blood.”

“He what?!” Killian snarled through clenched teeth, rage flaring within him at the implication of such tactics.

“He’d been making me forget things that would have caused me to ask questions, keeping me from learning about his true nature. He wanted me to feel bonded to him, so he dosed me with his blood, probably from the very beginning. I started to suspect something after I read one of your papers, and decided to have my blood checked. Cleo set me up with a lab that would be able to detect traces of vampire blood, but Neal must have found out about the appointment.”

“What did he do?”

It took every ounce of control Killian possessed to remain calm when Emma finally answered.

“He sent someone after me. Fortunately, I was able to fight the attacker off until Cleo arrived. Together we were able to subdue and question him. He confessed what Neal had hired him to do, and the lab results confirmed my suspicions. He hired that man to kill me, while his blood was still in my system. He tried to turn me, even though he knew I would never want that. That I’d never want to _be_ that.”

“Please, tell me you drove a stake straight through the bastard’s heart.” Killian wiped away the remainder of her tears even as anger continued to course through his veins.

“I would have, but he was long gone by the time I got back to the apartment. His cover was blown and he was in the wind.” Emma reached up and unclasped the swan pendant from around her neck. “He gave me this,” she said as she took his hand then dropped the necklace into his palm. “After he left, I had it enchanted so I could never again be persuaded. That’s why your attempt in the diner didn’t work on me. I kept it as a reminder to never trust anyone again.” She folded his fingers over the necklace and placed her hand over his closed fist. Killian held his breath in anticipation for her next words. “But now, I don’t think I need it anymore. Not with you.” Her eyes flicked up to meet his and he could feel his heart begin to race as his breath left his lungs.

“That’s an awful lot of faith you’re putting in me, Swan,” Killian murmured.

“I know,” she agreed, worrying her lip before stating, “But I think there’s a good reason for that.”

“What reason?” Killian questioned in hopeful reply. Could it be possible? Did she sense it the way he did?

“Why didn’t you just leave me with my car?” Killian’s brows furrowed at the question, then deepened with the next. “Why did you ask me to come into town with you?”

“I… I didn’t want to leave your company,” he answered honestly.

“Why?”

Killian hesitated for a brief moment as he considered the choice before him. Whether she felt the connection between them or not, he knew he couldn’t keep the way he felt about her a secret any longer. “Your scent,” he confessed. “Once it filled my lungs, it… it stirred something in me.”

“The bloodlust?”

“No. It was… it _is_ more than that. It’s you, Emma.” He reached up and threaded his fingers through her hair, brushing it over her shoulder as he explained, “Scent is intrinsic to who we are. It’s how wolves find and recognize their mate, how vampires find and recognize their bond.” He paused and cupped her cheek in his palm, gazing into her sparkling sea green eyes with all the intensity he felt. “It’s how I recognized you.” Emma’s lips parted as she let go a startled breath. “I didn’t realize at first, because I.... I didn’t think I’d ever be capable of finding someone. Someone both my natures would connect to so strongly. That is, until I met you.”

“A-Are you saying?” Emma stuttered. “Are you saying that I’m-”

“I’m saying that both of my natures... want you, want to be with you.”

“The werewolf and the vampire,” she clarified, and he nodded in response. “And what about the man?” she asked softly. “What does he want?”

It was Killian’s turn to release a startled breath through parted lips. For so long he’d only seen himself as one or both of his natures, never just a man.

“He wants you, too,” Killian whispered, dropping his hand from her face. “But more than that, he wants whatever it is _you_ want. You have a choice in this, Emma. Always.”

Emma leaned in to him, her gaze flickering down to his lips. “Kiss me, Killian.”

“I can’t, Swan,” he murmured, an agonizing hair's breadth from her lips.

“Why not? I know you want to.”

“You’ve no idea how much.”

“Then why-?”

“Because I won’t be able to stop myself, Emma.” He closed his eyes and tried to muster some semblance of will power over the desire flooding his veins. “I’ve wanted to taste you in every way imaginable since the moment I caught wind of your scent, and if I kiss you… I won’t be able to stop until I’ve done just that. Besides, we have other concerns to contend with. The pack outside, keeping you safe, the sun-”

“Shh.” Emma pressed her fingers against his lips, and he forced himself to open his eyes. “Right now I don’t want to think about any of that.” Lightly, she traced her fingertips along his bottom lip before skimming them down the front of his throat. “Right now, I just want to feel this moment. With you, Killian.”

Emma pressed her lips to his, and he hesitated for only a moment before giving in. He savored the feel of her mouth against his before gently pushing her back until she lay beneath him, his body molding to hers as he matched the urgency of her kiss. A low growl escaped him as her lips moved to brush along his jawline before returning her mouth to his, and he licked the seam of her lips, plunging his tongue in to claim hers when they parted. The taste of her kiss was every bit as intoxicating as he’d expected, and he wanted nothing more than to drink from her lips again and again for the rest of his days.

A tug at the back of his shirt released it from the waist of his pants, and a desperate need to feel her skin against his consumed him. She slid her hands under his shirt and ran them up his spine, clawing his bare back on the way back down and igniting sparks beneath his skin in their wake. He groaned into her mouth when she raised her hips to press into his, his arousal strained against his jeans as he grew even harder in response to her.

He could feel his primal urges welling up inside of him. The instinct to take, to claim, to mark her as his own. To bite, to taste, to turn…

Killian pulled back, gasping and panting. “I can’t do this.” Rejection soured over Emma’s face, and Killian rushed to reassure her. “I want to. Gods, do I want to.” He rested his forehead against hers, eyes shut as he fought to keep his resolve. “But if I have you now, Emma. I won’t be able to let you go.”

Emma’s hands rested against his cheeks. “Killian, look at me.”

He complied, and they both just stared into one another’s eyes. His body hummed with what he thought was desire, but when Emma opened her mouth to finally speak, reality took hold as a spasm of transformation rolled over him. Killian cried out as the pain lanced through his ribcage, and he threw himself onto the floor before he could cause Emma any harm.

“Shit, the sun set,” Emma realized as she crouched down before him.

“Go… into the… bedroom, Swan,” Killian stammered as he tried to unbutton and remove his shirt. His body had gotten so caught up in his arousal, that he’d neglected to notice the warning signs. Now his transformation was coming on faster than he was prepared for.

Emma swatted his trembling hands away and took over the unbuttoning process, peeling his shirt off him once they were all released. Her hands moved to the waist of his pants, but he stilled them with his own before she could undo the fastenings.

“Please, Emma,” he pleaded. “I don’t want you to see me transform.”

Her eyes told him that she wasn’t concerned about it, that seeing him shift wouldn’t change how she felt, but regardless, she nodded and respected his wishes.

“Will you come join me when it’s over?” she asked hesitantly.

“Aye, love,” he replied with as much of a smile as he could manage though the pain. “I’ll be along as soon as I’ve stabilized.”

She carded her hand through his hair before she stood and reluctantly made her way into the bedroom. Once Killian heard the door snap shut he hastily removed his remaining garments and surrendered himself to the change. Cursing his nature’s inconvenient timing through each and every agonizing moment.

He waited longer than was probably necessary before making his way into the bedroom. Given the gamut of emotions, urges, and impulses he’d endured over the course of the day, Killian didn’t want to take any chances with his Swan. When he entered the room it was much darker than he’d expected, and he was reminded of how the pack had found a way to the rooftop and the now covered skylight. It occurred to him that he hadn’t heard any disturbances or evidence of their presence since earlier in the day. An unnerving realization that he had no idea what they might be up to raised the hair along the back of his pelt.

Before alighting onto the bed, Killian padded his way across the room and intently listened for any sounds that might alert him to the pack’s whereabouts. Nothing. No noises outside of the normal orchestral offerings the forest typically played at night this time of year. Surely they hadn’t abandoned their vendetta against him? Killian sniffed the air, but only found notes of petrichor, earth, and his Swan surrounding him.

Knowing there was little more he could do until morning, Killian made his way onto the bed and began to settle himself. He could tell Emma wasn’t asleep, but he made no effort to disturb her. She had been quiet since he’d entered the room, and he wondered if she might be regretting the invitation she’d made.

He should have known better.

“I’m worried about what they might be plotting,” she whispered in the darkness, as if she could read his thoughts. “There hasn’t been any sign of them for a while now.”

Killian nuzzled his head under her hand and stared up at her, hoping she might find reassurance in their contact. She smiled down at him and began scratching behind his ear, causing his tail to thump against the bed.

“Like that, huh?” she giggled.

Killian huffed at her teasing tone, but it didn’t stop him from angling his head so she could reach the other ear. They both laid in companionable silence, drawing comfort from one another’s presence as the night stretched on before finally succumbing to sleep.

* * *

Killian awoke the next morning as his transformation ended, and just as they had the morning prior, his teeth and groin ached from the pleasant assault of Emma’s scent and soft form next to him. Unlike the previous morning, however, it appeared he was not the only one to be stirred from slumber by his return to human form.

Emma stretched and rolled toward him from her other side, snuggling in close to his body. Content to remain right where he was, Killian made no effort to leave the comfort of his bed or the warmth of the woman next to him. He might have drifted back to sleep if not for the soft graze of wandering fingertips through the hair at his chest, pulling a low moan from the back of his throat; or the tentative press of warm, supple lips brushing against his jawline and down the front of his neck. Killian inhaled deeply and the recognition of a fresh aroma hummed in his blood, making both his fangs and erection throb with need.

Arousal.

Killian could practically taste Emma’s desire. The heady perfume filled his sinuses and danced on his tongue, and he wanted nothing more than to consume it.

“What are you doing, Swan?”

“What does it feel like I’m doing?” she asked coyly.

“I told you, Swan,” he strained, trying to keep a grasp on his crumbling fortitude, “I won’t be able to let you go.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to let me go.”

Killian’s eyes snapped open and were met with the green hue of her lust filled and darkened depths.

“There can’t be any maybes, Emma,” Killian protested. “You have to be completely sure.”

Emma brought her hand up and cupped his face. “I am sure,” she breathed. “You said last night that each part of you wanted me; the vampire, the wolf, _and_ the man. Well, I may be just a woman, but this woman wants you, too.”

Emma pressed her lips against his, and Killian had all the answer he needed.

“Oh, you are so much more than _just_ a woman, love,” he teased against her lips. “You’ve many parts to you as well, and I’m a fan of every part of you.” He shot her a devilish smirk and challenged, “Shall I show you just how much?”

Emma giggled as he rolled them so she was once again on her back and pinned beneath him. “If you think you can without your wolf getting in the way.”

“You can hardly hold a compulsory transformation against a man, Swan.”

“I won’t,” she promised. “As long as you make it up to me now.”

“With pleasure, love,” he replied into her ear before sucking the lobe between his teeth and flicking it with his tongue. “With. Pleasure.”

Killian dragged his tongue along the line of her jaw then claimed her lips with his own. Revelling in all the little sounds she made as he teased her lips and tongue while his hands explored her body.

“You appear to be overdressed, Swan,” he quipped as his hand toyed with the hem of her - _his_ \- shirt.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind helping me remedy that.”

“Not at all.”

Killian gave her just enough space to sit up so he could slip the shirt over her head, marveling at the reveal of her creamy skin and rosy nipples before he tossed the garment aside.

“You are absolutely stunning, Swan,” he murmured through the press of his lips against her chest. Wasting no time in lavishing his attentions upon her beckoning flesh.

Emma’s hand clutched at the hair at the back of his head as his mouth enveloped one of her nipples. He swirled his tongue, raising it to a hardened peak and he gloried in the moan that passed through Emma’s lips as he repeated the process on the other side.

Slowly, he made his way down her body, not wishing to neglect even an inch of her skin as he bathed it with caresses of his tongue and lips, peeling her leggings off her body and following the path down both her shapely legs. Emma squirmed and groaned in frustrated impatience as he made his way back up, skimming his nose and lips along the inside of her thigh.

With his head now settled between her legs he could hear the pounding of her pulse on either side of his head. The scent of her was almost too much to bear, and Killian had never had to exert as much restraint over himself as he did in that moment. The compulsion to sink his fangs deep into her thigh nearly overtook him, but he refused to put his pleasure before hers.

Emma’s hips bucked when he finally made contact with the tender flesh of her sex. If he thought the taste of her kiss was intoxicating, it was nothing in comparison to the ambrosia he’d discovered between her thighs. With each flick and flutter of his tongue, he brought her closer to that point when it might become soaked with her release; a delight he sought after with great fervor until he heard Emma cry out his name, claiming her own satisfaction as they were both rewarded for his ministrations.

* * *

Killian kissed and nipped his way back up her body, sending pleasurable spasms through her as she continued to come back down from the intense release he’d just given her.

“I don’t think I could ever grow tired of your taste,” he whispered into her skin, a possessive growl mixed with a seductive purr lacing his tone and causing another wash of desire to cascade over her. “You smell incredible after you come,” he murmured between soft presses of his lips along the column of her neck, and up to the place just behind her ear. “The release does something to your blood. It calls to me, Emma. Sings to me. I won’t deny that I crave it. That I crave you.”

“You can, you know.”

Killian stilled then pushed himself up to meet her gaze.

“Can what, love?” His eyes burned with a wild intensity, a raw hunger he’d fought to maintain control over, and one she was offering to satiate.

“Taste me,” she answered. His jaw clenched, the muscles below ticking as he swallowed and flicked his eyes over to the expanse of her throat. “Taste me the way you’ve been craving to, Killian. I want you to.”

Killian caressed the blue lines of her veins, faint under her porcelain skin, then met her eyes once more. “At some point, Emma… you may have to stop me.”

Emma felt the tip of his nose skim down the length of her neck as she brought her hand up to run her fingers through the back of his hair. A sharp pinch pulled a hiss from her lips before she felt his latch onto her skin. His guttural groan vibrated against her throat, and an unexpected surge of euphoria overwhelmed her senses.

She knew he’d derive pleasure from taking her blood, but she never expected to experience any for herself. At least, not like this. It was rapture and ravishment, a flood of intoxication more potent than the strongest proof liquor. He’d said that she may have to stop him, but how would she ever be able to? Or want to?

Sparks ignited across her skin where his hand roamed. She arched into his touch when he cupped her breast, a gasping moan fell from her lips as he rolled the overly sensitive nipple between his finger and thumb. It was both a relief and a bereavement when he released it, but the feeling was short lived as his hand moved further down her body and began coaxing her other sensitive bud. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears, erratic and wild, making her hot and flushed with need. With want. A carnal craving she hadn’t recognized until that moment.

She wanted to taste him, too.

The shocking recognition of her own blood lust slammed into her just as another orgasm tore through her body. She cried out Killian’s name, her hands fisting both the sheet and his hair in a tight grip before surrendering to the bliss.

Killian’s lips released their hold from against Emma’s neck. Braced on his forearms and hovering over her, his eyes fluttered to a close. His mouth was slightly parted with a look of unbridled euphoria resting upon his features. Emma could see the smear of her blood on his lips, and she pulled him down to claim them. Overcome by the mixed salty tang of her arousal and the coppery notes of her blood still coating his tongue, she felt drunk with lust once more.

Killian hissed and pulled back from the sharp nip she’d given his lower lip, and ran his tongue over it to collect the fresh flow of blood.

“I don’t think you’re ready for that, Swan.” His eyes flashed as he pushed himself further back, kneeling between her legs.

“Please, Killian,” she whimpered. “I _need_ it. Need _you_.”

“I know what you need, love.” He ran his fingers through her folds, still wet with want, then coated her warmth along his length jutting out from the coarse hair between his legs. A shadow of something dark and feral passed over his expression. “Roll over,” he commanded gruffly, and Emma was helpless but to comply, her skin still buzzing from the need hissing in her blood.

Braced on all fours, Emma felt Killian’s calloused hands grasp her hips. He roughly pulled her towards him, collapsing her down to her forearms, and in one swift motion he buried himself inside her. Emma cried out at the welcomed intrusion, her body quickly molding itself to him before he slid out, only to drive himself back in again. He was forceful and aggressive with an animalistic dominance that snarled around each gruff declaration of possession and every grunt of pleasure.

His claims over her should have riled her anger. With anyone else they would have, but with Killian they only served to further fasten the bond she’d felt growing between them since their first encounter. The connection that had led her to trust him, rely on him, open herself up to him in ways she hadn’t done with another soul in years. Just as he had done with her.

Killian’s punishing pace slowed, and Emma’s head fell forward onto the mattress. She whimpered at the languid drag of his member against her walls. Her skin flared at the press of his lips on her back, and shuddered against the vapor of his breath.

“I’m sorry, love,” he remorsed into her skin. “I’m afraid I lost myself there for a moment. Are you alright?”

Emma nodded then gave a sound of protest at his withdrawal. Killian pulled her hair back over her shoulder and away from her face, laying tender kisses along her shoulder, and up her neck.

“I don’t want to take you this way, Emma. Not our first time,” he murmured in her ear, nipping softly at her lobe which sent a warm current over her. “I want to see you, love. I want to look into your eyes and watch your face. You’re magnificent when you come.”

Emma rolled onto her back beneath him and allowed him to settle between her thighs before bringing his lips down to hers. Killian hummed appreciatively as she poured out her response in the slant of her mouth, the scrape of her nails down his back, and the impatient thrust of her hips against his. He pulled away from her lips to look down at their bodies, lining himself up to her entrance before sheathing himself once more.

The inflection of their union vastly different than before as Killian laced their hands together and cherished her body with the reverent gaze of his eyes and the worship of his hips paying homage to hers.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered over her lips.

Emma wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her heels into him, forcing him to press her further into the mattress as his balance shifted. She gasped and clenched around him when he met her _there_ , and he groaned into her neck.

“Bloody hell, do that again,” he begged, and she tightened her muscles once more.

Killian’s chest rumbled against her, and a low growl made its way up his throat as he snapped his hips with more urgency. Her breathing staccatoed, each thrust pushing her towards another release and she felt her thighs begin to shake.

“That’s it, love,” Killian panted, his eyes fixed on her as he encouraged her to surrender to the wash of ecstasy cresting within her. “Come for me, Emma. Let me hear your blood roar for me one more time.”

His words sent her careening over the edge of bliss. Wave after wave crashed over her, each with greater intensity than the last, until his release met hers.

Emma had no idea how long they laid there afterward, their bodies still joined together and the dampness of their exertions cooling against their skin. Killian’s head rested next to hers, his breathing just as labored and erratic as he braced himself on his forearms so he did not crush her with the full weight of his body. When both their heart rates normalized he rolled off to her side, pulling her to him. His arms wrapped around her, unwilling, or perhaps unable, to allow any distance between them, refusing to ever let her go. Just as he’d said.

“I can heal that if it pains you,” he whispered softly into her shoulder, and Emma struggled to follow what he meant. “The bite,” he clarified. “If you’ll permit me, I can heal it for you.”

“No, it’s fine,” Emma replied. “It’s not disturbing me.”

“But it _is_ disturbing me, love,” he confessed sheepishly. “You’re too tempting _without_ my mark upon your skin, with it... I’m not sure I can manage to resist taking from you again.” Emma wanted to tell him that she was more than willing, but realized it might not be safe for him to do so just yet. She had no idea how much he’d taken from her earlier. “You won’t have to ingest any of mine. I can apply my blood to the outside of the wound. It’ll take longer, but you won’t have to endure any of the side effects.”

She resisted telling him that she wouldn’t mind the side effects. She already felt bonded to him in a way she’d never felt connected to anyone before. Even Neal. Because what she and Killian had between them was real. It wasn’t like the artificial bond Neal’s blood had created in her when there were no real feelings to ground the blood connection to. She knew the effect Killian’s blood would have on her would be greater than that which she could ever imagine, but as eager as she was to experience it (the blood lust still hummed softly in her veins), she knew what a big step it was for Killian. It wasn’t something he’d let either of them enter into lightly.

Emma nodded her consent for his healing then watched as he brought his thumb up to his mouth and pricked it against his exposed fangs. She winced slightly as he brushed the droplets over her neck, even though his touch was nothing more than a gentle caress.

“May I see your hand?” he asked.

She’d completely forgotten about the wound that had exposed not only his true nature, but both their true identities - a lost boy and a lost girl - as it led to them to open up to one another the day before. Offering her hand up to him, he peeled back the bandage and smoothed a thin layer of his blood over the cut. She watched in fascination as the injury healed then faded away over the course of several minutes before she smiled up at him.

He wore a pensive expression, and she wished more than ever that he had allowed her to take his blood so she might have an idea as to what he was thinking.

"What is it?” Emma questioned as she swept back the hair that had fallen across his forehead.

“We should have discussed it more beforehand, this thing between us,” he replied. “I should never have allowed things to go this far without-”

“Stop,” Emma chided. “I told you. I want this. I _want_ you.”

“But do you even know what that means, Emma? Wolves mate for life, and bonds between vampires are eternal. I’ve made my choice. I’m in this for the long haul if you’ll have me, but are you really ready for that kind of change?”

Emma chewed her lip, the reality of what her decision would mean hit her full force and she blurted out, “I don’t want to become a vampire.” The shake in her voice pulled both a pained and empathetic look from Killian’s features, and insecurity clouded his gaze. “I’m not against the idea of becoming a werewolf, but a vampire is something I just couldn’t-”

“You don’t have to become either, Emma,” Killian assured softly. “You can stay human if you wish, I won’t force you to take on either of my natures. I’m not entirely sure what effect the transformation would have on you given the… uniqueness of my situation.”

Emma considered his words for a moment then asked, “But would you be willing to try it? If I decided being your mate, your _true_ mate is what I wanted, would you?”

“I would,” Killian answered. “But only if you’re absolutely sure that’s what _you_ want.”

Emma did want it. It scared her just how much she wanted to be with this man, and only after such a short time. She’d let him take her blood, and still craved his. Every fiber of her being was ready to accept his bite in wolf form if he were to offer it that very night. Regardless of the certainty that ran through every nerve ending, she found herself saying, “I’m going to need some time to think about it. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is, love.” Killian smiled down at her, though it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Whatever you decide to become, or not become, is entirely up to you.”

“No,” Emma stated firmly. “It’s up to both of us. I know you’re worried about how your hybrid nature might complicate things, so I want you to be sure, too.”

Killian lightly pressed his lips against her forehead and murmured, “We don’t have to decide anything today, Swan.”

“But we will have to figure it out sooner rather than later,” Emma protested. “After tomorrow night we’ll… wait. What _is_ going to happen once the full moon cycle ends and those wolves transform back into their human state?”

Killian released a resigned sigh. “Once they’re human, my persuasion will work again and I can command them to go. Should give me enough time to leave without them following.”

“Leave? What do you mean leave?”

“I’m not welcome here any longer, love,” Killian confided sorrowfully. “Walsh and his pack have been given leave to seek out retribution against me, and they won’t stop once they go back to being human. I left Graham with little choice. He can no longer offer me a place of sanctuary here after I broke my word to never use my powers against either of the packs. I’ll have to leave as soon as the cycle ends.”

“Where will you go?”

Another cloud of uncertainty settled over Killian’s features, and Emma realized the implication of her question. “I mean, where were you _planning_ on going?”

A grin broke over Killian’s face. “I didn’t have much of a plan, truth be told. Why?” he asked with a smirk. “Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“Well,” Emma grinned back at him coyly, swirling her fingers through his chest hair. “I suppose I’d be willing to take in a stray. How would you feel about moving in with me?”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Killian huffed in mocked offense before tightening his embrace and nuzzling his face against the side of her neck, murmuring into her skin, “I would love to move in with you.”

Emma hummed appreciatively at the feel of his lips moving up her neck. Her skin hummed in anticipation of his touch, desire pooled within her once more as his mouth claimed hers. It was a slow, languid kiss, filled with the declaration neither had actually expressed yet, but one Emma knew they both felt with complete certainty. One that Emma was more than willing to express to him in other ways than mere words.

“As much as I would love to continue these more enjoyable activities,” Killian whispered against her lips. “If I am planning on leaving the day after tomorrow for good, I’ll need to get some packing done.”

Emma groaned at his sensible nature, causing Killian to chuckle. “Come on, Swan. I promise to make it up to you later.” He swaggered his brows at her before releasing her with a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “Why don’t you go have yourself a shower while I wrestle us up some breakfast, love.”

Emma barely registered his words, too distracted by the view he was giving her as he retrieved a fresh pair of boxer briefs and slid them on before making his way to the closet to finish getting dressed.

“I’ll have coffee waiting for you,” he said as he gave her one last kiss on the top of her head before throwing a knowing smirk over his shoulder as he exited the room.

* * *

Killian surveyed the living room while the coffee brewed, considering what all he might take with him to begin a new life with his Swan. Despite his age, and the opportunity he’d had to amass belongings over his already long life, Killian didn’t have much in the way of possessions. In all honesty, it wasn’t going to take them terribly long to pack up his meager belongings, but Killian had to get them both out of that bed. Desire had started clawing under his skin, the need to take her again had become almost too much to bear - and not just bodily.

In need of something more to distract him, Killian turned his thoughts to the still absent pack. He pulled aside the front curtains, exposing the dampened landscape around his cabin. The abnormal stillness outside alerted Killian to the fact that the pack had remained close by, but the lack of sound or scent to identify their location was unnerving. He re-entered the bedroom and drew back those curtains only to be met with the same sort of false calm the front room’s view had provided.

Killian focused his hearing, isolating each sound he came across so he could identify its origins. The spray of the shower with Emma lightly humming some tune he did not recognize, mixed with the delicate rustle of pine tree limbs in the mid-morning breeze pulled a quick smile from him before he pressed further into his senses. Barely audible animal noises from the forest caught his attention briefly until he homed in on a curious sound. Scratching? Digging? It sounded as though it was coming from the back corner of the kitchen.

Emma turned off the water to her shower as Killian began making his way back toward the kitchen. The sounds stopped when he reached the island, but Killian determined that it had to be coming from the cellar beneath the pantry. He stood there for several long moments, frozen in concentration as he willed the noise to begin again. A quick sniff of he air alerted him to Emma’s presence, and he turned to find her standing in the bedroom doorway wrapped in his robe.

“Everything okay?”

The sight of her had him temporarily forgetting the troubling sound. His eyes hungrily swept over her, appreciating how the silky fabric hugged her curves and her long damp locks curled next to her breast. The coolness of the droplets seeping through the thin material had hardened her nipples into beckoning peaks and Killian couldn’t help but take a step towards her. Before he could take her into his arms, a thud sounded from behind the pantry door that had Killian’s hackles raised and all his senses on high alert.

“What was that?” Emma questioned, grasping onto Killian’s arm as they both stared warily towards the pantry.

Too late Killian heard the creak of the cellar stairs and had only a moment to shove Emma back into the bedroom before the first wolf burst through the pantry door.

“Killian!” Emma screamed as the beast lunged at him.

Killian used the wolf’s momentum against him, sidestepping the attack and tossing him into the living room just as another wolf made its way up the stairs. He reached behind him and slammed the bedroom shut, leaving a protesting Emma banging on it from the other side.

“Lock the door, Swan!” Killian commanded, squaring off with the new wolf who had paused at the top of its ascent, readying itself to pounce.

“What about you?” Emma argued angrily.

“Survivor, love,” Killian quipped without taking his eyes off the posturing brown wolf before him, while also keeping the first wolf in his periphery.

They coordinated their attack, both springing at him at the same moment, just as Killian suspected they would. The impact landed him on his back, the brown wolf crushing him with his massive, muddy paws pressed firmly against his chest, jaws snapping at Killian’s neck and face. He’d brought his hands up, keeping the deadly fangs at arm’s length while kicking at the blonde wolf.

Teeth sank into his thigh, and Killian cried out in pain before rearing his right arm back and punching the brown wolf in the throat. It yowled and stumbled off of Killian’s chest, causing the blonde wolf at his leg to release its grip. Killian rolled and wrapped his legs around the blonde wolf. Using his superior strength, he squeezed until the beast’s back snapped and the wolf went limp.

While he’d been fending off the first two wolves, the third and fourth had made their way from the cellar and were attempting to get through the bedroom door. Killian growled and launched himself towards the animals, but was foiled by the brown wolf who’d recovered enough to mount another attack, this time sinking its fangs into Killian’s shoulder. He stumbled back, calves hitting the edge of the couch before he toppled onto the cushions with the beast still tearing at his flesh. Killian reached up and attempted to pry the animals jaws from his shoulder. Its lower jaw shifted unnaturally in his grip and the wolf whimpered in pain before pulling away, leaving itself vulnerable to Killian’s fangs this time.

Killian snarled as the hot rush of blood hit the back of his throat. If it weren’t for the last two remaining wolves’ efforts against the bedroom door, he’d have drained the animal of every last ounce. Instead, Killian took just enough to render the beast unconscious before wiping his chin and hastily pushing the wolf aside.

Emma’s scream tore through him as the sound of splintering wood filled the air.

“No!” Killian roared.

Pain lanced through him with each footfall towards his bedroom from the wound still healing at his thigh, but the panic of seeing the ruddy colored wolf making its way through the broken door allowed him to ignore it. Whimpered cries quickly followed after the red wolf entered the room, and Killian could hear the hiss of aerosol. Relief swept over him that Emma had remembered and used the silver spray, but it was short lived as he watched the final, sable, wolf make its way through the door before Killian could reach it.

Grasping the ravaged edges, Killian pulled the rest of the door free from its hinges and rushed into the room. The sable wolf had Emma backed up against the windows, the now empty and useless spray still clutched in her hand as tears streaked down her cheeks. Killian fought past the throbbing agony in his leg and threw himself at the wolf he recognized to be Walsh, but he didn’t get there in time. Walsh raised himself up and slashed at Emma with his claws just as Killian tackled him. Hints of copper filled Killian’s senses and he recognized the scent of Emma’s blood on his tongue. Pinned down with Killian’s hand at his throat, Walsh brought his paw up to lick the fresh blood from it before Killian snapped his neck.

Killian didn’t need to see it to know the damage that had been done. He could smell it.

“No! No, no, no. Emma!” Killian gathered Emma into his arms, a large gaping slash across her throat poured blood with each fragile beat of her heart.

“I can fix this,” he promised desperately as he stared into her wide, dimming eyes. The words offered to try and convince himself as much as her. Killian ripped his fangs through his palm and laid it against the torn flesh of her neck. “It isn’t enough,” he panicked in realization. “It won’t be quick enough.”

“Yours,” Emma gurgled past the blood pooling in her airway. “Give me… yours.”

With one hand administering at the wound site and the other holding her upright so she wouldn’t bleed out as quickly, Killian had no choice but to sink his fangs into his bottom lip before pressing them against hers. He felt the pull of her mouth against his, sucking the blood from his lips, but she only managed a few swallows before passing out.

Was it enough? Would it heal her before…

Killian listened in terror as her pulse continued to weaken, slowing with each beat as more blood trickled from her neck. The terrible realization of what might happen if her heart stopped slammed into him.

He would have turned her into the thing she hated most.

There was only one thing left he could try in order to stop that from happening, but it came with a price he wasn’t sure she was truly willing to pay. With only seconds to make his choice, Killian laid Emma down and forced himself to transform. His clothes shredded against his shifting body, and agonizing torment raged through him, but he paid neither any heed. As soon as his transformation had progressed far enough, he administered the bite then waited with baited breath.

Her heart fluttered weakly then stilled for one… two… three beats of his own before another flutter finally strummed in her chest, followed by another, then another. Each stronger than the last which had Killian ready to weep in relief that either his blood or his bite had prevented it from stopping forever.

It was a temporary feeling though, for no matter what, she would wake up different. He had promised it would be her choice, that whatever she chose to become or not to become was as much up to her as it was to him, but now he’d taken that choice from her. He couldn’t make himself regret it, though. Not truly. She was alive, and that’s all that mattered to him, even if that made him a selfish bastard, no better than the man who’d tried and failed to turn her all those years ago. He just hoped that one day, she’d be able to forgive him for succeeding where the other man had failed.

The stirring of the other wolves pulled his attention from Emma and he braced himself protectively over her prone body. Killian knew the other three wolves would already be on the mend from the injuries they’d sustained in their initial attack, and he wasn’t willing to take anymore chances with his Swan’s safety. With one last assessment that she was no longer in immediate danger from the neck wound, Killian nuzzled her hand and gave it an affectionate lick before taking care of the remaining three wolves.

* * *

There was a buzzing in her ears. A drone she became more and more aware of as she slowly regained consciousness. Her body tingled, the hairs prickling on her skin from the cool air circulating around her. An assault of scents permeated her sinuses, stirring her further into wakefulness as her brain attempted to identify each one.

Fresh linens, a wood burning fire, dampened earth, pine, notes of leather, wolf musk-

Emma shot up and looked around frantically, the memory of the wolves getting in finally coming to the forefront of her mind. She squinted against the soft rays of fading daylight coming in through the windows before her gaze fell to a dark mess of hair. Relief washed over her at the sight of Killian seated on the floor with his back against the bed, his head tilted back on the mattress as he snoozed peacefully.

She ran her fingers through his hair, rousing him from sleep. She could hear his heart rate and the rhythm of his breathing change. The soft sigh he gave rang clearly in her ears, though she knew it should have been barely audible. Her hand stilled as Killian’s eyes opened.

Troubled blues bore into dazed green, and though Emma could already read the truth displayed in them, it didn’t stop her from asking, “What happened?”

She watched his Adam’s apple bob, a pained expression clouding his face as he answered, “They got in. Dug their way into the cellar while the ground had softened from the rain.”

Images flashed in her mind: Killian forcing her through the bedroom door, a blonde colored wolf lunging at them from the pantry, Killian shutting her inside the bedroom, the sound of Killian crying out in pain, wolf snarls and snaps, clawing and scratching at the door, a red wolf she sprayed with silver, a sable wolf that-

Emma reached up and grazed her fingers against her neck, searching for some trace of the injury she now remembered receiving. She found her skin to be smooth and unblemished, that was until she reached the other side and felt it.

The bite mark.

Not the one Killian had given her when he’d taken her blood, that one had already healed by the time she’d finished her shower. No. This was a bite from his other nature. A mark no amount of supernatural healing could ever completely remove. A brand she would carry with her for the rest of her life - a life now tied to the cycles of the moon and to the man who sat vigilantly at her bedside.

“I’m so sorry, Swan,” Killian remorsed, pulling his gaze from hers as shame cascaded over him. “I gave you my blood, but it wasn’t working fast enough. I worried what would happen if your heart stopped. The bite was the only way I could think of to save you from a fate worse than death… or death itself. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, even if it meant taking the choice from you. Even if it means you hate me for it.”

“Oh, Killian,” Emma responded gently. She pulled the covers back and crouched down in front of him on the floor, taking his face in both of her hands. “It’s okay. I get it.”

“You do?” he asked incredulously, finally snapping his eyes up to meet her.

“Of course.” She pressed her forehead against his. “I would have done the same thing.”

Killian’s eyes widened briefly as they flickered between hers before settling on her mouth. He surged forward, one arm wrapping around her waist while other hand cradled the back of her head as he fused his lips to hers.

“I love you, Emma,” he murmured between kisses.

She smiled against his lips. “I love you too, Killian.”

They lost themselves to a few more hungry kisses with Emma straddling his lap before the fading light reminded them of Killian’s impending transformation. But would it only be his change they had to face that night?

“Will I… Am I going to change tonight, too?”

“No,” Killian answered. “The first shift doesn’t happen mid-cycle. It’ll be another month before you’ll transform.” He kissed the tip of her nose before helping her up. “I should go and get myself ready.”

Emma grabbed his arm as he turned to leave. “You don’t have to go, you know. You don’t have to hide that part of yourself from me.”

Killian furrowed his brows, and his jaw tightened in consideration. He reached back and took hold of the collar of his shirt, peeling it from him without taking his eyes off her. Emma could feel her entire body vibrating in anticipation as he removed the rest of clothes before sitting with her on the edge of the bed. He took her hand and she could hear the measured ebb and flow of his breaths as he worked to keep his breathing steady. The even cadence filled her with an overwhelming sense of peace and calm.

Until pain stabbed through her rib cage.

“Emma?!” Killian called out in response to her cries.

“Killian? What-”

“Don’t fight it, Emma,” Killian instructed, having just realized what was occurring. “Surrender to the process, love. Regulate your breathing.” Emma kept her eyes focused on his, drawing in shaky breaths as tremors began to wrack her body. “That’s a good girl.”

Emma could her the strain in his voice from stalling his own transformation in order to guide her through her own. “I thought you said…. I wouldn’t change yet,” Emma panted.

“I don’t understand it either,” Killian replied. “But we’ll get through it together. I’m with you, love. Always.”

Emma nodded at his assurances and clamped her eyes shut, giving over to the process with Killian at her side. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. The very foundations of her being rendered and reformed as muscle and sinew knitted itself anew over repositioned bone and joints. When the warm prickling in her skin finally subsided she opened her eyes to see the hue of forget-me-nots staring back from a familiar wolf face. She startled at the feel of an involuntary movement, and realized it was her tail swishing in response to him.

Killian padded towards her tentatively then sat down before her, eyes still fixed on her as he waited. Allowing her to take the lead, though she could sense the dominance radiating off him. Emma sniffed at the scruff of his neck, and it was though some invisible link tethering them together permanently solidified itself within her. She was his, and he was hers. He was her home, no matter where they’d be forced to go.

Emma nuzzled Killian’s snout, and he returned her affectionate gesture. He remained patient as she moved about the room, acquainting herself with her new form. A sandy flash of fur startled her until she realized it was her own reflection in the darkened windows. She stood staring, marveling at how collected she felt in the face of such a surreal sight. As if she’d always been meant to take on this form, had always been meant to be bonded to the dark wolf who now stood beside her. Emma had no idea from where or who she had come from, but she had no doubt in that moment that this was where she’d always meant to end up. With Killian. Her mate.

* * *

Killian groaned as the remnants of transformation back into his human form siphoned themselves out of his system. He was torn over the decision to remain in his human form, so that he could take care of the necessary packing that would need to be completed that day so he and Swan could leave the next day, or shifting back into his wolf form in order to keep Emma company while she remained in hers until the next morning. He had no idea why the shift had occurred so soon, but as a Bitten, he knew his mate would not have the ability to change back until the cycle ended.

His mate.

Killian still had trouble fathoming such a reality. Emma was his mate. For better or worse they would be tied to one another for the reminder of their lives. Another realization that brought a whole host of concerns to Killian’s mind. Would she age as other wolves did: slower than human, but faster than he? Would belonging to him be enough to sate the need only a pack could typically provide? How would their differences in nature affect their future? The ability to have a family? Was that even something they should contemplate? There were so many unknowns, so many variables to consider.

None of which could be addressed in that moment, which was why Killian chose to set his worries aside in favor of meeting the day head on.

By first checking in on his Emma.

Killian rolled to his other side and blinked the sleep from his eyes, fully expecting to see the sandy colored sheen of her coat. Instead, he was astonished to find the nude form of his Swan, stretching out the kinks her recent transformation had left behind.

“What the devil?” Killian exclaimed, sitting up in the bed as she mirrored his action.

Emma stared at her hands, then her gaze traveled over the rest of her body. Confusion beset her expression, matching Killian’s as they both finally met one another’s eyes.

“How in the bloody hell are you human again?” Killian questioned rhetorically.

He watched as Emma’s expression slowly morphed from confused to stunned to gratified. She beamed a wide grin at him, and that’s when understanding hit him full force at the sight of her smile.

But how?

The answer came as the memory of her heart stopping moments after he’d given her his bite flashed before him. Her heart had stopped with his blood still in her system _before_ his wolf bite had taken affect and got it beating again. Emma wasn’t simply his mate, she was also his bond. Sired by both of his natures. Which meant her unexpected transformations must be...

Emma swept her tongue over her exposed fangs and stated, “I guess it must be a hybrid thing.”

~~THE END~~

_**Part Three Coming Soon...** _


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of parts one and two, Killian and Emma are called back to Storybrooke where a series of attacks has plagued the town.

 

* * *

The rattle of the phone buzzing on the bedside table echoed through the room.

“Ignore it,” Killian mumbled against Emma’s neck.

“It could be important,” Emma half-heartedly protested as Killian molded himself to her recently transformed body, pressing her further into the mattress as he continued his early morning explorations.

“Not as important as this.”

“As what?” Emma panted in eager anticipation at the graze of his fangs along her throat.

“Getting you to the point where you’ll _howl_ my name in ecstacy.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Again with the wolf puns? Seriously?” The buzzing continued from the bedside table. “You really should answer that.”

“If you think I’m going to forego pleasuring my mate, so I can be talked into whatever new creature Cleo wants us to go after this time, you are _barking_ up the wrong tree.”

“Ugh. That’s it.” Emma shoved Killian off her with a playful chuckle, then quickly sprang from the bed out of his reach. “Come up with new material,” _buzz,_ “and answer your phone, Jones.”

“Swan!” Killian whined as she made her way into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

As much as she’d like nothing more than to let him carry through with his plans for her that morning, it was good for him to not always be the one to call the shots. Although he’d established them as equal partners in their bonds from the very beginning, Emma knew that his Alpha nature was there just beneath the surface. She appreciated her mate’s willingness to set aside his instinctual nature, and even though she had no problem with his dominance, it was fun to put him in his place every so often.

“Yeah, what,” she heard Killian snap irritatedly into the phone. The sound had Emma suppressing a giggle, until she heard his tone change. “Graham? What is it? Is it Granny? Ruby?”

Emma quickly finished throwing on some clothes and hurried back to an ashen faced Killian seated tensely on the edge of the bed.

_“No, no. They’re fine,”_ Graham assured. Emma could feel the strain start to leave Killian’s body. _“For now, at least.”_

Killian met her confused expression with one of his own before he hit the speaker button on his phone. Although he knew she could hear what Graham was saying, it was his way of including her in the conversation.

“What do you mean, for now?” Killian questioned. “What’s going on, mate?”

A deep sigh crackled over the phone before the man answered. _“I’ve got a situation here, Killian. I’m out of my depth and I… I need your help.”_

“You need _my_ help?”

“ _Well, yours and your mate’s_ ,” Graham clarified.

“Emma,” Killian insisted, earning him a brief smile from her.

“ _Right, Emma. Sorry_ ,” Graham replied with a hint of penitence. “ _From what Ruby tells me, this is right up your alley._ ”

“And what exactly is that? What’s going on, Graham?”

Another heavy pause stretched out over the line before he answered, “ _We’ve had a series of vampire attacks. I don’t know if it’s just one or several_.”

“What kind of attacks?” Emma questioned, now earning herself a small smile from Killian as she pressed the man for answers.

“ _At first the victims were all in human form. They were persuaded, so they don’t remember anything about the attack, but they were left with varying degrees of injuries._ ”

“How many victims are we talking about? How long has this been going on?” Killian inquired.

“ _Eleven in the past three months._ ”

Killian and Emma both balked at his answer, with Emma quick to admonish, “And you’re just _now_ calling for help?”

Another sigh. “ _The Oz pack wouldn’t agree to it… until now_.”

“Why now? What’s changed?” Killian asked.

“ _During this last full moon cycle there was another attack_ ,” Graham explained. “ _It or they went after the Oz pack’s Alpha… He’s dead, Killian_.”

Killian sucked in a sharp breath at the news. Emma knew there was no love lost between the Oz pack’s Alpha (or any of its members) and the hybrid he’d always referred to as an abomination. Never having had the displeasure of meeting the Alpha herself, Emma had only ever heard him described as a real devil of a dog with his mate being a real wicked bitch - according to Ruby.

Emma met Killian’s eyes and neither of them had to say a word, their bond did all the communicating that was necessary.

“Give us the day to settle a few things we need to wrap up here,” Killian replied. “We’ll head to Storybrooke first thing tomorrow.”

“ _Thank you, Killian_ ,” Graham exhaled on a relieved breath. “ _Thank you both._ ”

After ending the call Killian took Emma’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips. “I guess it’s back to werewolf country, love,” he quipped before placing a light kiss to the back of her hand.

* * *

It was a tense several hours up the coast the next morning, and became even more so once they crossed the town line. Emma tried to ready herself for what awaited them at the diner. In the year and a half since she and Killian had left Storybrooke they’d only seen Ruby and Granny a handful of times. Emma’s only interaction with Graham had been the day they’d left after that fateful full moon cycle had ended.

_“I think that’s everything, love.” Killian slammed the tailgate of his truck closed then walked around toward the passenger side. “All we need to do now is collect your bug and hitch it to the truck. We can see about getting it running again once we’ve made it back to your place.”_

_“Our place,” Emma corrected with a smile, pulling him in to for another kiss - she’d lost count of the number they’d shared already that morning._

_They both stiffened, their bodies on high alert, as the sound of the perimeter alarm notification went off on Killian’s phone. The sound of tires on gravel rumbled in Emma’s ears, and prompted Killian to take an instinctual protective stance in front of her. Were members of the Oz pack coming to seek out Walsh and his band of wolves? The only people who knew their fate for sure were Ruby and Granny, who had called early that morning to check on Killian after four excruciating days where they’d been forced to sit by and wait out the cycle._

_Emma felt Killian relax when the vehicle came into sight. “It’s alright, love,” he reassured, taking her hand and leading them towards the slowing vehicle._

_Emma watched as a tall brunette sprang from the car and ran headlong at them. Killian caught the woman with an audible_ oof _and chuckled._

_“Good to see you too, Ruby.”_

_“I’m so glad you’re okay,” the woman muffled into his shoulder before releasing him and throwing her arms around Emma, who stiffened at the unexpected contact. “Both of you.”_

_“For pity sake, Ruby. Let the poor woman breathe,” Emma heard Granny admonish as she left the car to join them. “Though, I am relieved to see you both came through this unscathed.”_

_Killian cast a look Emma’s way and reached up to scratch behind his ear. “Well, not completely unscathed,” he admitted before wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side, “but I don’t think either of us mind the lasting repercussions.”_

_Emma smiled up at him in agreement then turned her attention back to Granny, who gave them both a self-satisfied smirk._

_“I didn’t think you would.”_

_“You knew, didn’t you?” Killian mirrored the woman’s knowing smirk right back at her. “You knew back at the diner the effect she’d have on me, what we might come to mean to one another.”_

_“Of course I knew,” Granny quipped with a hardened edge of mocked exasperation. “You should know better than to doubt my intuition by now.” She gave them both a softer expression before adding, “I’m thrilled to find out it wasn’t wrong. You two are clearly meant for one another.”_

_Killian’s arm tightened around her waist before their attention was drawn back to the vehicle, the last occupant now exited the driver’s side._

_“Stay here,” Killian murmured into Emma’s hair, placing a kiss at her temple before excusing himself to approach Graham._

_“I tried to talk him into letting Killian stay, but…”_

_Emma tuned Ruby out, her focus squarely set on her mate and the Alpha who’d left them both to fend for themselves. Anger began to spark in her nerve endings and her senses were on high alert, ready to come to Killian’s aid should he need it - and maybe even if he didn’t._

_“You know there was nothing more I could do,” Graham stated. “My hands were tied, Killian.”_

_“I know,” Killian replied. “I didn’t leave you with much of a choice. I understand that your first priority is to your pack.”_

_“Well, I don’t understand it,” Emma thundered as she stormed toward Graham. “How could you just turn your back on him?”_

_Killian caught her around the waist before she could step further into the man’s personal space . “Swan, it’s alright.”_

_“No, Killian,” Emma argued. “No, it’s not alright. He turns his back on us, leaving us for dead, and now he wants you to appease his guilty conscience? That’s bullshit!”_

_“I have nothing to feel guilty about,” Graham contended sternly. “Killian knew the consequences should he ever act against the charter, or use his unnatural abilities against members of the packs.”_

_“Unnatural abilities?” Emma seethed through clenched teeth. She could almost feel the wrath burning in her eyes. Graham flinched back, and Emma realized that perhaps her eyes had betrayed more than just her rage._

_“Emma, look at me,” Killian insisted._

_She complied, swallowing down the desire to lunge out and attack the infuriatingly arrogant Alpha. A desire that pulsed in her teeth, her fangs threatening to emerge with each drum of her heartbeat._

_Killian fixed her with a firm look, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks. “Breathe, love,” he encouraged. “You can control it. Just breathe.”_

_Emma heeded his advice and focused on taking even breaths, made difficult by Graham’s astonished reaction as realization settled over him._

_“She’s a… is she a?”_

_“Aye,” Killian confirmed without taking his attention off her._

_“You turned her into a hybrid?” Graham accused, a tone of disgust lacing his words that had Emma seeing red all over again._

_“He saved my life,” Emma defended._

_“And condemned you to the life of an outcast,” Graham admonished, his words directed more to Killian than her. She could feel Killian’s own anger begin to spike. “Why would you do that? How could you shackle someone to that kind of existence?”_

_“It wasn’t intentional,” Killian replied, the lingering guilt she knew he felt was evident in his voice. “As Emma said, I was trying to save her life. I didn’t even know I could make her like me.”_

_“And why shouldn’t he want to?” Emma challenged. “Do you really want him to be alone for the rest of his life? I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your knowledge that he’s already going to outlive all of you.” She turned her gaze to her mate and took his hand in hers. “Now he doesn’t have to be alone.”_

_“Don’t misunderstand me,” Graham responded with a hint of sympathy. “I don’t begrudge you two finding one another, or that Killian now has someone of his own kind. I just worry that you have a difficult road ahead of you both. There are many who aren’t going to be very accepting of your… unique nature.”_

_“Like you,” Emma muttered accusingly under her breath._

_Graham’s jaw clenched. “Perhaps you should start exerting a bit of control over your mate,” he advised Killian. “You are her Alpha now.”_

_Emma blanched. She hadn’t considered that reality until right then. Killian wasn’t just her mate, he was her Alpha. Uncertainty over how she should respond to that revelation swept through her as her eyes snapped to Killian’s._

_His eyes briefly flickered between hers before he addressed Graham. “That may be, but I’ll never treat her as anything but my equal.” His expression morphed from one of intense sincerity to one of utter cheek as he quipped, “Which means if she wishes to give you a piece of her mind, she’s well within her right to do so. I’m certainly not going to deprive her of that pleasure.”_

_Emma beamed up at him, raising herself up on her toes to kiss his cheek out of gratitude for his words and mindset._

They’d said their goodbyes after that. Inviting Ruby and Granny to come visit them, and promising to let them know if Emma’s work (which quickly became Killian’s as well) ever brought them up that way. Ruby and Granny had never been able to make it down their way, it was difficult for them to stray too far from their pack, but the handful of times Emma and Killian had come up north in pursuit of an arcane criminal they’d managed to meet with them outside of the pack territories. This would be the first time either of them had seen Graham since that morning, though.

Even though they’d been in agreement while on the phone with him, Killian had asked her a number of times if she truly was okay with them coming back to Storybrooke to assist Graham when he hadn’t afforded them that courtesy. Emma would be lying if she said it didn’t chafe her just a bit, but she understood the concern neither Killian or Graham had admitted out loud. The concern that after one Alpha had already been killed, Graham might be next.

It hadn’t been long after they’d left Storybrooke that Killian told her the full story of the terrible event that had plagued the town nearly ninety years before. It had been a vampire attack. A turf war between arcane creatures that had left one pack decimated, and the remaining two without their Alphas. Graham had become pack leader in the wake of his father’s death, which had in turn forced him to make good on the promise he’d given Ruby. The promise that Killian could return to Storybrooke.

Emma knew that Killian and Graham were both concerned that the town might be facing a situation similar to the one the packs had faced the century before, and though most of the town didn’t merit much concern from her, she _was_ worried for Granny’s and Ruby’s safety. For all intents and purposes, they were Killian’s only family, even if they didn’t share pack ties.

Killian parked the truck out front and took Emma’s hand, “Ready, love?”

She could feel his own anxieties fluttering furiously, so she leaned over to place a kiss at his lips while running a hand up his chest, grazing his nipples with her nails through the thin fabric of his shirt. She hoped the action might turn his temperment in another direction, exchanging his worry for another kind of tension that wouldn’t be interpreted as a potential weakness. By the look in his eyes when she pulled away, she’d succeeded in her efforts.

“Minx,” Killian muttered amusedly under his breath.

Emma giggled, “Which kind?”

“Both.”

Emma smacked him in the chest, causing his own chuckle to rumble there. He offered her a quick wink before opening the driver’s side door, and she followed him out her own side. Taking her hand again, he offered it a light squeeze as they made their way through the diner door. The squeal that resonated from within as they entered had Emma wincing. Ruby tackled them both, wrapping her arms around the pair and squeezing tightly.

“For pity sake, Ruby. Let them get inside before you go attacking them,” Granny admonished, making her way from behind the counter.

“I’m just so happy you’re both here,” Ruby said as she released them and pulled them toward the counter.

Emma surveyed the patrons around her. Scared and somber faces were huddled in booths and around tables. The attacks had clearly taken their toll.

“Why don’t you two come have a seat and I’ll get you something. You must be starving after your drive.”

Emma and Killian took a seat at the bar, both still surveying the diner when Killian posed the question, “Where’s Graham?”

Ruby and Granny exchanged a look that had Emma on high alert. “What? What’s happened?”

“Nothing,” Ruby soothed. “It’s just… you two aren’t the only ones he called for help.”

“Excuse me?” Killian inquired tightly. “Who else did he call?”

Before either Granny or Ruby could answer, a small boy of maybe five or six rounded the corner from the back hallway.

“Uncle Killian!” The boy ran right up to them, practically jumping in Killian’s lap.

“Lucas!” Ruby chastised. Emma suppressed a grin at the mother getting onto her son for the exact same behavior she’d been guilty of just moments before. “Emma you haven’t met the last of our litter. This is Lucas. Lucas say hello to Emma, Killian’s mate.”

“Hiya!” Lucas offered, and Emma gave him a little wave.

A pang of longing swept through Emma at the sight of the dark headed boy seated on her mate’s lap. She and Killian had talked about having children, but neither of them knew if it would be possible. Vampires were incapable of conceiving their own biological offspring, and it was impossible to know if that was one of the traits they’d been saddled with in their hybrid nature. Emma still had her human cycle, though it had been erratic and unpredictable since her change, but had only experienced a wolf heat once in the last eighteen months. She held out hope that one day it would be their own son or daughter snuggled on Killian’s lap the way Lucas was now.

Emma’s attention piqued at the sound of male voices coming from the back hallway. She turned in time to see Graham and two other men round the corner into the diner. The Alpha gave a nod towards Killian who gently slid Lucas off his lap so he could join the other men, sharing a look with Emma before he did.

Killian had instructed her on the protocols of being on another pack’s turf, and they’d both agreed to adhere to them to a certain point. Killian would take the lead initially with Graham and other males, then bring her into the conversation as his mate and partner.

“Killian,” Graham greeted, “I’d like you to meet Arthur.” Emma turned her attention to the man and began sizing him up. He offered a friendly smile, but it didn’t sit right with Emma. “He’s Alpha of the Camelot pack up north. Arthur, this is Killian Jones.”

“Ah, yes. The infamous hybrid I’ve heard so much about.” Arthur extended his hand and after a moment’s consideration Killian accepted the gesture. Nothing about the interaction was threatening, but her mate’s rigidity at the man’s comment had Emma on guard all the same. “Allow me to introduce Lance, my Beta.”

The two men nodded amicably at one other before Killian beckoned her over with a glance. “And allow me to introduce you both to my mate, Emma.”

Killian’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her in close; a sign of possession to the other males that he rarely ever demonstrated, and one that Emma found kind of sexy. She shook the thought, and its eventual spiral of temptation, from her mind and nodded toward the men. No hands were extended her way. Physical contact with an Alpha’s mate was considered a grave infraction, unless the other male was a close relation.

“Well, I must say. You’re not at all what I was expecting,” Arthur commented, his gaze lingering a little too long on her as he appeared to size them both up just as she’d done with him from the counter.

“And we weren’t expecting another outsider’s presence, so I guess we are even in that regard,” Killian stated. His attention shifted back to Graham with a quizzically raised brow.

“Arthur’s pack experienced a number of vampire attacks earlier in the year,” Graham relayed in a hushed tone. “It was never caught, which makes me wonder if-”

“If it could be the same one,” Emma finished, drawing incredulous looks from the males. Their stares were obviously meant to chastise her for speaking out of turn, but Killian’s supportive squeeze at her hip and amused huff bolstered her confidence in the face of their scowls.

“Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere,” Arthur suggested with a quick scan of the now bustling lunch crowd within the diner. “We don’t need the whole of Storybrooke overhearing the tale. Might start people panicking more than they already are.”

Graham agreed and led the group to a back room past the diner’s kitchen. He informed them that it was entirely soundproof, something quite common in a community full of super hearing werewolves, so anything said wouldn’t be overheard, allowing them to speak freely.

Arthur was about to launch into his tale of what his pack had faced when Killian questioned, “Are we not waiting for a representative from the Oz pack?”

“There isn’t one.”

“What do you mean, there isn’t one?” Emma inquired in confusion. _How can that be?_

“Well, seeing as how their Alpha is dead,” Arthur stated callously, “and your mate killed their Beta, and other high ranking members last year-”

“What about their Alpha’s mate?” Emma cut him off sharply; unwilling to listen to the man’s accusatory tone any longer.

The visiting Alpha flushed a deep shade of crimson at being interrupted before growling. “It’s not her place.”

Emma’s brows shot toward her hairline, and she felt Killian tense up beside her. “I’d watch your tone there, mate.”

“I wouldn’t have to watch my tone if she’d stayed back with the other females where she belongs.” His comment was directed entirely toward Killian, his dismissive and chauvinistic attitude on full display now.

“I _am_ where I belong. Killian and I are a package deal.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t about to let the man dismiss her, and she knew there was no way Killian would allow it anyway, which only bolstered her to throw an additional barb his way. “Being arcane creatures doesn’t mean we have to follow archaic mindsets.”

“There is something to be said for the old ways,” Arthur quipped with a nonchalant air that didn’t match the tight set of his shoulders. “You should keep your bitch on a leash, Jones. Or better yet, muzzle her, so the rest of us don’t have to endure her.”

Killian gave the arrogant ass a smirk as he brought his hand up to rub behind his ear. “Well, you’ve gone and done it now, mate.”

Fully expecting a physical retaliation to come from Killian, Arthur didn’t see the right cross from an incensed Emma which landed him on his back. Graham extended his arm, stopping Lance from coming to his Alpha’s aid while Killian placed a calming hand on her shoulder before stepping forward to menacingly stand over Arthur. “I don’t restrain my mate, _mate._ Best keep that in mind.”

“Or else his mate is going to kick your ass,” Emma threatened.

“Enough!” Graham commanded before allowing Lance to assist his Alpha off the floor. “Now that we’ve all establish the hierarchy of our alliance, let’s get down to business.”

Emma snapped her head towards Graham, and realization of why he hadn’t intervened until then set in. He knew that in order for all of them to work together a hierarchy would have to be established among them. Given that they were on his turf and there by his invitation, Graham was the highest ranking male, which left Arthur and Killian to battle it out for where they would fall in the order of things. Emma also realized that by taking a step back and letting her engage Arthur, Killian had established both of them as dominant over the insufferable Alpha. Granted, Arthur would probably only defer to Killian and not her, but regardless, Emma couldn’t help the satisfaction she felt at having assisted her mate in claiming that place of authority within their group.

A satisfaction that didn’t last as Arthur continued to be dismissive, not only of her, but Killian as well, as the afternoon wore on. Graham, at least, seemed to recognize and respect their expertise in tracking and apprehending arcane criminals. Deferring to both of their observations and suggestions as he and Arthur brought them up to speed, he adjourned their meeting in agreement of Killian’s suggestion that they reconvene in the morning and scout out the areas the attacks had occurred.

“Try and find the villain’s lair, as it were.”

“That settles it then,” Graham announced. “We’ll meet here tomorrow morning and begin our search for this... thing.”

Graham led them out of the back room and into the sparsely populated diner, still serving those few patrons who’d come in at the tail end of dinner service. Arthur and Lance excused themselves to head upstairs to their rooms in the B&B, saying they’d call something up from the kitchen later. Arthur did request that Graham walk with him as he had something of a personal nature to discuss with him, and Emma’s eyes narrowed suspiciously after them.

“You two must be famished,” Granny chided at the sight of Killian and Emma re-entering the diner. “Take a seat in one of the booths and I’ll have Ruby bring you something.”

She and Killian did as they were told, and Emma eagerly relaxed into the booth now that it was just the two of them again.

“So, do we _have_ to work with that jackass?” Emma asked sassily hoping to tease a smile from Killian’s lips. He’d been wound up tighter than she’d ever seen him all afternoon.

“I’m afraid so, love,” Killian muttered. “He’s here at Graham’s behest, so we’ll have to endure his presence until this vampire is stopped.”

“I guess we’ll just have to find him quickly then,” Emma continued, still trying to lighten the mood from her broody and sullen mate. “Otherwise I’ll have to work on my sparring technique so I can really break the douchebag’s nose next time.”

Killian’s expression soured, the complete opposite reaction she’d been trying to elicit from him. “I’m sorry you had deal with that, Swan. I should have stepped in sooner-”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” she interjected. “Besides, I think I handled him pretty well.”

“Aye, you did,” Killian agreed with a hint of pride before his demeanor soured once more. “But you shouldn’t have had to. If he’d truly seen me as an Alpha, recognized me as one worthy of that respect, he never would have treated you that way.”

Killian’s fist was balled tightly on top of the table. His knuckles were turning white from the strain of clenching it in his apparent rage. Emma reached over and gently placed her hand over it.

“Hey. It’s okay,” she assured him. “It’s no different than any of the prejudice we’ve faced before, right?” A saucy smirk pulled at hers lips when his eyes finally met her. “He’s clearly trying to compensate for some kind of _shortcoming_ that we both know you don’t have to worry about. She threw him a wink, and was rewarded with an amused huff as he released his fist and took hold of her hand.

They sat in silence, each rubbing soothing circles over the other’s hand with their thumbs, speaking volumes to one another through just their gazes until Ruby deposited plates in front of them.

“Hey, Ruby?” Emma called, gaining the brunette’s attention. “What can you tell us about that Arthur guy?”

“You mean _King_ Arthur,” Ruby sassed with a roll of her eyes.

Emma exchanged an arched brow with Killian before scooting over and gesturing for Ruby to join them.

“What do you mean _King_ Arthur?”

“The guy runs his pack like a mini-kingdom,” she relayed as she slid in next to Emma. “Really old fashioned ideas about hierarchy, women’s roles, and werewolf superiority. He’s a total weasel.”

“Yeah, we got that,” Emma snorted past the onion ring she’d just stuck in her mouth.

“How is it that I’ve never heard mention of him before?” Killian posed dubiously.

“None of us had,” Ruby replied. “Camelot has led a pretty secluded existence for hundreds of years. One of the last secret holdouts in the area, apparently.”

Emma nodded in understanding. For the vast majority of the world, arcane creatures were still the stuff of myths and legends. There was an entire subculture of human awareness of the reality, though. Organizations and individuals who’d become aware of their existence through a variety of circumstances, good and bad, and for the betterment of all, worked in cooperation with supernatural communities to keep the arcane world a secret.

Emma had discovered over the course of her experience in bail bonds and as a bounty hunter, and more recently as one of these creatures herself, that the secrecy of the arcane world didn’t just pertain to humans, but permeated the supernatural world itself. Distrust between the various species, even within their own kinds, had caused many communities to seclude themselves from not only the human world, but the arcane one as well.

“Several weeks ago, patrols found a body just outside our borders during the start of the thaw,” Ruby continued. “They’d obviously been there since winter, and weren’t a part of either of the Storybrooke packs, so Graham worked some of his channels to try and find out who the poor soul belonged to. That’s how he discovered the Camelot pack. There’d been rumors of a pack further north, but few had ever had contact with them. It took some time for Graham and Arthur to build a rapport with each other, but once Arthur found out we’d had attacks too, he offered whatever help Graham thought we might need. After what happened to the Oz Alpha…”

Ruby went quiet. Emma could smell the swell of fear that had taken over. Fear that her mate could be the next victim, just as Graham’s father had been nearly a century before.

“We’ll find it, Ruby,” Killian assured as he covered her hand with his. “Emma and I will see to it that this thing hurts no one else.”

Ruby gave him a grateful smile, but Emma could tell that her worry wasn’t completely assuaged.

“Did you want me to get you a room ready?” Granny asked as she approached their table. The diner was now mostly empty, given the hour. Citizens had been encouraged to adhere to a curfew until the culprit behind the attacks was found, and it looked as though most were taking heed of that warning. Emma found herself feeling rather tired, and didn’t mind the prospect of turning in early as well.

Before she could reply though, Killian answered for them “No. We’re going to stay at the cabin.”

His short tone caught her off guard, but Granny didn’t seem too put off by it.

“I figured you’d want to be in your own space.” Ruby smirked. “I went by yesterday to spruce the place up a bit and stock it for you.”

For the first time in several hours, Killian seemed to finally relax a bit. Even if just marginally. They finished their meals, said their goodnights, then headed off towards the cabin. Emma couldn’t seem to make sense of her thoughts as they drove. She wanted to ask Killian his impressions about the day without any other ears listening in, wanted to figure out what had him so wound up. They’d gone after a number of nasty creatures together, and none of those cases had ever affected him like this. Was it concern for Ruby and Granny that had him so on edge? Unfortunately, exhaustion from the day caused her to doze off before she could pose a single question his way.

* * *

Killian parked the truck in front of the cabin and took a moment to take in the sight of it from the illumination of the headlights. He probably should have asked Emma if she’d be alright coming back here. Discussion of their accommodations while in Storybrooke hadn’t really come up while they’d prepared for the trip, but he felt certain his mate was under the impression that they’d stay at Granny’s. Honestly, it had probably been his intention as well, but that was before…

Killian shut off the engine and turned his focus to the sleeping woman beside him. A pleasant ache settled in his chest at the peacefulness resting on her features, and he was loathe to wake her. He was certainly capable of carrying her into the cabin without rousing her, but knew she’d want to shower and get her bearings before actually turning in for the night. Resigned, he reached over and gave her shoulder a gentle shake.

“Swan? Love, we’re here. Wake up.”

A small smile pulled at his lips from the stretch and little noises she made as she came to, which caused some of the tension he’d been carrying to release a bit more from his frame. Rapid blinks from her eyes preceded her focused gaze as it landed on the cabin before them. Killian heard an uptick in her pulse and cursed himself. He should have known this place would cause such a reaction within her.

“I’m sorry, love. I should have asked you about staying here. It was selfish of me. You probably never wanted to see this place again-”

Emma halted his broodings with the press of her fingers against his mouth. “Stop. I’m fine.” Her fingertips skimmed lightly over his lips then down his neck, sending his own pulse into overdrive as her hand came to rest against his chest. A knowing smirk teased the corner of her mouth from the thundering of his heart under her palm, but then her expression turned a bit more serious as she continued, “You’ve been on edge all day. Ever since we got into town. If being out here makes you more comfortable, then I’m absolutely fine with staying in the cabin.” Killian opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. “This is your home, Killian. Your place of sanctuary. I might not have the best memories of this place, but I do have a few good ones. And one in particular that trumps all the bad ones.”

“And what memory is that, Swan?”

“Becoming yours. Your mate and your bond.”

Killian sucked in a tight breath then released it as a shaky sigh. The primal instincts that had been gnawing at him all day welled up within him, forcing him to surge forward and lay claim to her mouth. She _was_ his, by the gods. _His._ Possessiveness snarled in each of his nerve endings and manifested itself in the demanding crush of his lips against hers and the command of his tongue to give him access to her own.

He pushed her back until she was pressed against the passenger door, his body splayed over the top of hers on the bench seat. Hands roamed greedily, groping at all the places that might elicit a growl or a groan from the other. Killian wanted to tear at the offending garments keeping him from his Swan’s skin, but before he could get a proper grip she tore her mouth from his.

“Easy there, tiger,” she panted. “We might want to get into the cabin first. I remember that bed being a bit more comfortable than this door panel is pressing into my back.”

Killian suppressed the urge to reprimand her for the interruption. Startled that such a notion even occurred to him, he bit down on his tongue and moved back to the driver’s side. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? He would never put his own wants and desires before Emma’s comfort, so where was this aggression coming from? Perhaps he just needed to get them inside where he could regain some modicum of control.

With a quick breath to try and calm his keyed up body and emotions, Killian swept a hand through his hair and opened the door to exit the truck. Having grabbed their luggage from the bed, he took Emma’s hand and walked them to the front of the cabin. Mindful of her emotional state as they approached the door, he was relieved that she seemed calm and relaxed. A state he craved for himself as he unlocked and pushed open the door, then took in a deep breath that he hoped would bring him some peace.

The intake, however, had the complete opposite effect.

“Killian?” Emma questioned behind him.

His hair stood on end and he froze in predatory readiness, a low growl rumbled in his chest that caused her defenses to rise in response as well. “Someone’s been here,” he snarled.

“You mean other than Ruby?”

“Aye. Take a whiff.”

Emma stepped inside and drew in a deep breath. Her brows furrowed as she tried to process the multitude of scents clinging to the air.

“Do you smell it?” he asked. “That sort of… stale, musty sweetness? Like mildew, but without the hint of dampness?”

Emma’s eyes widened, her own growl now resonating in the back of her throat as she surveyed the cabin with her own superior senses. “Vampire,” she spat, now recognizing the odor they both attributed to that species of arcane creatures.

“It’s alright, Swan. It’s long gone now,” he assured her, even as he struggled to keep his own anger over the intrusion in check.

“How the hell did it get in here without an invitation?” Emma questioned. “You don’t think Ruby-”

“It wouldn’t need an invitation before now,” Killian reminded. “They only need to be invited into places where the living dwell. No one living has dwelled here for over a year.”

“Do you think it’s been squatting here during the attacks?”

The idea of that had Killian seeing red before logic insisted, “No. Ruby would have smelled it.

It must have entered after she’d gone, or perhaps even earlier today.”

“So it can just come and go from here as it pleases now?”

Killian could hear the trepidation in her voice, and was quick to wrap his arms around her before reassuring, “No, love. _We’re_ dwelling here now. Unless you’d rather go back to Granny’s?”

“No,” she insisted firmly. “I’m not letting anything else drive you from your home.”

Killian smiled down at her then brushed his nose against hers. “Our home.” This close to her face he could now make out the dark circles under her eyes. It hadn’t occurred to him that the day had taken its toll on his mate as much as it had on him, but clearly it had. “Why don’t you go get settled and ready for bed. I’ll take stock of what Ruby’s left us, and make sure the cabin is secure, yeah?”

Killian followed her into the bedroom and deposited their luggage on the bed before returning to the main part of the cabin. Not much had changed really. Ruby or Granny had seen to it that the bedroom door had been replaced, and they’d obviously tended to the place since he’d left. The fact was that the cabin and the land it sat on actually belonged to Granny. It had been in her family since Storybrooke was founded, and when Graham had agreed to let Killian return all those decades ago it had been the perfect place for him to make a home. Far enough away from the packs, and on neutral land that had never been annexed by the pack or the town proper.

The more he checked the cabin the more he’d hoped the sense of the familiar would calm him, but it was to no avail. A thorough assessment of the now fortified cellar only served to spike his ire further when he caught wind of the blood sucking intruder’s scent again. There was something about it Killian couldn’t quite put his finger on, but he swore he’d smelled it before and it was an infuriating feeling that he couldn’t pinpoint where or when.

Infuriating. That word could easily sum up his entire day.

He hadn’t been prepared for it, hadn’t even considered how different it would be to return to Storybrooke in the new role his bonds with Emma had given him. An Alpha. A Dominant. It was something he knew lingered just under the surface of who he was, _what_ he was, but he’d meant it when he’d told Graham that final morning before he’d left that he’d never treat Emma as anything but his equal. She _was_ his equal, and over the last year and a half they’d operated that way, had lived their lives that way. The Swan-Jones Bounty Hunters, both using their own unique skills to track down and bring arcane creatures to justice. As partners.

Killian had spent his entire life suppressing the qualities that made him superior to others. With no pack to guide him in roles of hierarchy, serving and taking orders in two world wars had sufficiently prepared him for a life of deference under the Storybrooke charter. As a loner and outcast, it had become almost second nature to swallow his pride and take the barbs and insults hurled his way. His dominance could take the hit, and nothing had been worth upsetting the status quo.

Until Emma.

She’d changed everything the day she broke down outside of town. Even before they knew, or admitted that a bond existed between them, Killian had felt protective of her. He’d had to check himself numerous times over the course of those full moon cycle days to not exert too much of his dominance; an instinct that had become easier to control when they’d returned to Emma’s home.

Being two unique arcane creatures in a predominantly human landscape had set him and Emma above their associates by the sheer fact of what they were. Those they worked with naturally deferred to their authority, but not only because of their hybrid natures. Emma had proven herself a force to be reckoned with even as a human, and once it had become common knowledge that the papers and academic journals they all relied on in dealing with the more supernatural of skips had actually been penned by him, Killian had garnered an equal amount of their respect.

Killian hadn’t realized how much the submission of their human community to his and Emma’s authority had helped him channel his Alpha tendencies. When he’d come into town earlier in the day however, he could feel the difference coursing through him. A community of werewolves wasn’t going to be so quick to offer up that same level of respect. It had to be earned.

As soon as he’d learned Graham had invited another outsider into town to assist, Killian knew a battle for supremacy would be required so a chain of command could be established within their tenuous alliance. It had been his intention from the offset that Emma would be the one to earn their place in the pecking order, but he hadn’t expected the distasteful inclination his deep seated, dominantly primal instincts had dredged up. The thought that perhaps, despite being a complete sodding git, Arthur had a point, and Emma should have stayed back with the other women.

It was utter bollocks! They’d have all been fools to not include her. There was no one better at finding people, human or otherwise, than his Emma, and regardless, they were a team. He couldn’t have been more proud of they way she’d stood her ground with the other Alpha, or how she’d laid him out with just one punch; both demonstrations stirring more than just his pride, if he was being honest. However, the continued dismissive and belittling tone they’d both received from the man for the remainder of the afternoon had only served to add to the powder keg of emotion Killian had tried to quell, and now he feared this added insult of a vampire daring to enter _his_ domain would set him off in a most volatile way.

His hands shook with fury, and a hot coil of rage twisted in his gut. Vaguely aware that Emma was done with her shower, and would seek him out, Killian went to the kitchen sink to splash cold water onto his face. Pressing the tea towel against his features, he was finally able to draw a breath that didn’t include hints of the trespasser.

“Are you coming to bed?” Emma called out from the bedroom.

“In a bit.” Killian hoped his tight tone wouldn’t betray his turmoil, but he really ought to know better by now.

“Killian?” He knew Emma had emerged from the room, even though his back was to her. He could hear her concern at having found him hunched over the sink. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he replied quickly as he straightened and made himself busy with returning the towel to its proper place.

“Don’t _nothing_ me,” she admonished as she crossed to him. “I can tell something’s wrong, so what’s going on with you?”

She tugged at his shoulder to force him to face her, and he felt his eyes flash at her action. She gasped and Killian bowed his head in shame. None of this was her fault. He had no desire to take it out on her. She was his mate, his bond, if he couldn’t share what he was feeling with her, then...

“I just,” he started stiffly. “I feel so out of control right now.”

“Well, that’s understandable,” she soothed. “It’s okay to feel-”

“No! It’s not!” Killian barked. His unexpected outburst made Emma flinch back, and remorse consumed him again. “I’m so sorry, Swan. I didn’t mean to… I just...”

Emma stepped forward and ran her fingers down the side of face. Her eyes were filled with love and tenderness, his surliness already forgiven. “Tell me,” she whispered softly.

“I used to be able to bury it,” he began again in strained bursts. “My dominance. Serving in both wars, taking orders, never really having been part of a pack. It made it easier to defer to other males, other Alphas. But ever since…”

“Ever since you turned me, and became one yourself?”

Killian nodded and released a diverted breath. Of course, she understood.

“That primal nature isn’t as easy to bury anymore, especially here. As much as I consider you my equal Emma, I can’t deny the dominant part of me that exists just beneath the surface. Not having other Alphas acknowledge it, acknowledge _me_. Having this… _thing_ invade my territory.” He could feel the spiral of chaos swirling through him again, causing him to snarl out the remainder of his explanation. “My dominant nature hates the lack of control, and I-I need...”

“What do you need, Killian?” Emma pressed.

“I…,” Killian wet his lips, his gaze falling to the pulse thrumming in her neck, and the deep plunge of her robe as it framed her cleavage. “I need…”

Emma knowingly brushed back the damp hair resting over her shoulder, exposing the full expanse of her neck to him, then she began loosening the belt on her robe until she was able to slip the garment from her shoulders, revealing her bare form underneath. “Take what you need, Killian. _Whatever_ you need.”

Killian wrapped his hand around the back of neck and pulled her to him, sinking his fangs into the tender flesh of her throat and drawing deeply from the well of luxury he found there. He groaned at the hot rush of pleasure coursing through him from having his Emma in his veins. There was no other sensation like it, and only a few could compare to its euphoria. His skin came alive, every hair stood on end from the current of power electrifying his senses and igniting his primal urges.

A throaty moan escaped Emma’s lips and he felt her hands at his belt and the fastenings of his pants. Fiery need licked its flames of desire up and down his spine, a sudden blaze combusted within his blood at the salty mixture of hers, and a burning he had no interest in controlling consumed him as he lifted Emma into his arms. Reluctantly, he pulled his lips from her vein and crashed them to her lips as he unceremoniously deposited her on the island behind them. Slipping his jeans just low enough to free himself, he gauged the level of her readiness before plunging himself inside her, each of them gasping and groaning at the way only he could fill her.

The frenzy continued through the rough snap of his hips. Emma’s thighs clamped firmly against him, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as she held on through the punishing rhythm he pounded out between them. She crossed her ankles behind him and shifted her pelvis against his, the new angle caused her to through her head back, exposing the expanse of temptation to his more feral urgings. He wouldn’t take from her again just yet, though. A sweeter reward would infuse her blood once she came, a reward he found himself quite impatient for.

“You love it when I take you like this, don’t you love?” Killian panted.

His own release was approaching quickly, seeing his mate completely surrendered to him as he took her again and again, watching her welcome him over and over at the point of their union with a look of unbridled trust and ecstasy on her face only served to spur him on in his efforts to possess her fully.

“No one else has ever made you feel this way, have they? Have they?!”

“No,” Emma replied breathlessly. “No one else.”

“You crave me, don’t you,” he stated. The evidence was clearly displayed by the fangs now toying at her bottom lip.

“God, yes,” she cried, her legs beginning to quiver against his as her back arched in anticipation for the coming bliss. “I want to taste you, Killian. Please. Let me taste you.”

“Then take from me, Emma,” he commanded. “I want you filled with my essence in every way imaginable. Marked as mine from the inside out.” He reached up and ran his fingers over the only remnant of her change still visible, the transformative werewolf bite he’d administered in order to save her life. Emma hissed as his fangs sank into her neck once more, and he groaned appreciatively as hers pierced his flesh before she began to draw his blood, his very life, into herself.

He tasted her release before he felt it. A sweet spike of ambrosia blended with the coppery notes of her blood just before he felt the vibrations of her moans against his skin and the tremor of her walls clenching around his member. The extravagance of the sensations pushed him over his own precipice and he came with guttural utterances of his own against her neck, knowing his Swan was now experiencing the same decadence flowing from his veins he had from hers.

Killian broke away from her neck with a delicate swipe of his tongue over the puncture marks that would quickly heal from their rapid regeneration. She mirrored the action before they pressed their foreheads together, now drawing breath from one another as they just had with each other’s blood. As he came down from his high, Killian began to feel the needles of reproach prickling under his skin.

“I’m sorry, Sw-”

“I swear to god. If you apologize to me one more time Killian Jones, I will not be responsible for my actions.” Killian chuckled, despite the feelings of _bad form_ he was working to combat. Emma ran her fingers through the scruff at his jaw then pressed up on his chin to tilt his eyes towards eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” she whispered softly, moving her hand to card through his tresses which were now damp with the sweat of their exertions, before sweetly adding. “I like it when you go all Alpha male on me. Reminds me of our first time.”

Gods, he was a lucky bastard.

Killian pulled her flush against him and held her tightly in his embrace, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck so he could drink in her scent. For many long moments they stayed that way, Emma scratching the back of his scalp with one hand, as the other traced up and down the curve of his back.

“Feeling better?” she asked when his arms finally loosened from around her torso.

“Aye. Thank you.”

“You can thank me by coming to bed,” she half commanded with a raise of her brows and tilt of her head. “And promising that you’ll clean this counter _thoroughly_ before making me breakfast tomorrow.”

Killian glanced down to where their bodies were still barely joined together and grinned wickedly. “Perhaps I’d planned on having _you_ for breakfast.”

“Then you can have your breakfast in bed,” she chortled. “This island is meant for preparation, not consumption.” She wiggled stiffly, attempting to pry her flesh from the hard surface with a slight grimace.

“I’m sor-”

She shot him an exasperated look, and he held up his hands in abdication before fully extracting himself from her, so she could extract herself from the counter. Following her back into the bedroom, he went about removing his clothes while weighing the option of a shower before collapsing in bed. Emma made up his mind for him.

“Go shower,” she mumbled as she wallowed into her pillow after climbing under the covers on her side. “You’ll feel better after a nice hot shower.”

Killian watched her eyes flutter shut, and the corners of his lips ticked up. “Did I wear you out, love?” he teased, though he knew she’d been weary before their extra-curricular activities. Her half snorted hum had him chuffing all the way to the bathroom and through his shower.

She’d been right, he did feel better after some time in the hot steam to help clear his head. Still not quite calmed down enough to actually sleep, Killian went back through the cabin to try and put to rest the niggling feeling he’d had about the vampire’s scent. He’d been too preoccupied with the tempest of his storming emotions and instincts earlier to really analyze it properly. Pushing past the dank notes of decay, Killian homed in on the aromatics that made up the unique signature of the creature. What he discovered there gave him pause.

“No.” Killian rushed back into the bedroom as silently as he could and inhaled deeply, the redolence of his and Emma’s scents confirmed his suspicions. Killian knew exactly who Storybrooke’s attacker was, and more importantly, why it was here.

It had come for him.


	4. Part Four

**Part Four**

Killian crept along the underbrush of the forest, his senses heightened in his wolf form as he tracked the scent the vampire had left behind. After realization of the creature’s identity had struck him, Killian had transformed and snuck out of the cabin, determined to seek it out on his own. He knew he was to blame for it being there, and Killian’s gut had twisted painfully at the knowledge that all the attacks, the death of the Oz Alpha, were all because of him. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to put themselves in harm’s way on his behalf. Especially Emma.

With any luck, he’d be able to put an end to things peacefully. Convince the vampire he’d once called friend to turn himself in, so they could work through the grievance without further bloodshed. Hopefully with enough time to return to his mate before she left the comfort and warmth of their bed.

Killian felt a little guilty for sneaking out without so much as leaving a note, but was confident that her exhaustion from the day’s travel and stress would keep her from discovering his absence. If the vampire was unaware of her existence, Killian wanted to keep it that way. It would be safer for her should things escalate past the point of reconciliation. Killian knew he didn’t deserve, nor did he expect forgiveness for what he’d done, but surely there was a way for them to find a resolution without any more violence.

His ears swiveled and twitched at each noise as he padded deeper into the forest. Though many hours old, the now recognizable scent steadily filled Killian’s sinuses, leading him through brush and briar until he came to a small clearing several hundred yards from the cabin. It was too quiet here, and the change in the atmosphere around him made the fur along his back raise in wariness.

Killian was contemplating transforming so he could call out for the creature to appear when his paw pressed down on a hard metal plate. Too late he heard the soft clink of the spring release before the trap snapped around his front left leg. Searing pain burned up the extremity as the metal teeth were driven further into his flesh, crushing the bone beneath. Killian yelped and howled in pain, his cries echoing across the clearing while he attempted to transform so he could remove the infernal contraption. Another surge of agony went through him as he tried, and failed, to shift.

“Don’t bother,” a cold and familiar voice drawled from the shadows. “The trap is made of silver. You won’t be able to transform.”

Killian focused his gaze and took in the appearance of the man he’d not seen in a century. His old comrade in arms, Bae. He looked just the same, of course. Same brown hair, same brown eyes, though admittedly a bit colder, with the same premature lines creasing at their corners as he smiled sadistically.

“Been a long time, Killian,” Bae said as he stalked his way forward from the darkness of the tree line. “I have to admit, this was easier than I thought it would be.” He gestured toward the trap. “Thank you.”

Killian’s hackles raised, and a low growl reverberated from the back of his throat as the man came closer. Without thinking he attempted to lunge at him, but the biting claws of the trap sent another spasm of pain tearing through him, causing him to yelp and whimper in the face of the now laughing man.

“I wouldn’t struggle too much if I was you. It’ll only make the silver coating leach into your system that much faster.” He pulled a knife from the back of his waistband, the moon reflecting off its surface as he brandished it before Killian. “And I mean to have some fun with you before you pass out.”

Killian growled again, but couldn’t help his natural instinct to cower back at the man’s menacing approach. Each of them were so focused on one another, they both startled when a sandy haired wolf leaped in front of Killian, baring her teeth and emitting her own sinister growl. The growl stopped suddenly and Killian could sense a ripple of shock roll through her. He yodeled, hoping to gain her attention so he could communicate through their bond that she should go and get help, but she refused to take her eyes off his attacker.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Bae chuckled. “You went and got yourself a mate? I mean, by the way she’s protecting you, I assume this bitch belongs to you, right?” Emma began growling again and took a step toward him, despite Killian’s protests.

“You’ve got a choice to make, sweetheart,” he told Emma, backing up at her continued approach. “You can try and fight me off, or you can run for help. Either way, Killian’s up against a clock. The longer that trap stays clamped on his leg, the more silver enters his bloodstream. Eventually he’ll pass out from the toxicity, and I’ll be able to move him. Question is… do you want to waste time fighting me, or call for help and hope your reinforcements are fast enough to get here before he succumbs?”

It was a calculated risk. Emma could run back to the cabin, call for help, and come back to try and hold Bae off, but help was at least twenty minutes away. Plus, there was no guarantee Bae wouldn’t harm him, or perhaps speed up his incapacitation somehow in order to move him before she returned. The effects of the silver began to cloud his vision, and Killian shook his head to try and clear the haze that was overtaking him. The action pulled Emma’s attention to him, and he used their bond to tell her to go for help once their eyes finally connected.

Emma turned back towards Bae and gave the man a few snapping barks, causing him to stumble backwards even further. She used the advantage of his caution to quickly nuzzle her head against Killian’s before bolting off for the cabin. Relieved that she’d chosen to listen, and was now out of harm’s way, Killian focused on staying conscious. He kept as still as possible and concentrated on steadying his pulse and his breathing; a feat made difficult when Bae stepped towards him again.

“Smart girl,” he praised with mock sincerity. “With any luck she’ll be back with the calvary before you pass out. Would you like me to villain monologue for you while we wait to see which happens first?”

Killian fought to stay lucid as Bae recounted his life’s journey since they’d parted ways close to the end of the first world war. Their fallout had been a catalyst of reconciliation between Bae and his father, their sire. He’d been able to track him down faster than Killian had, locating him in Germany just before his rise in power with the regime that would usher in the second world war.

“Once it became evident that Germany would fall, we planned to escape to Argentina with other members of the inner circle,” Bae went on to explain, his voice becoming fuzzy and distant in Killian’s ears. “I left first. Papa was supposed to meet me with our fortune a week later, but he never arrived. Of course… you already know that, don’t you?” His cold, accusatory stare swam in Killian’s vision, and he knew he was running out of time. “I stayed in Buenos Aires for as long as I could, hoping for some news of my father’s fate, but eventually I had to leave. Too much time without aging had passed, so I worked my way up through Southern and Central America, then finally into the US.” Bae crouched down and assessed Killian, a smirk pulling at his lips. “I know what you’re thinking. Why didn’t I return to Europe to continue my search? Well, I did eventually, but before I could something happened that delayed my plans… I met a girl.”

Bae chuckled to himself and settled further onto the ground before an extremely woozy Killian, engaging with him now as they used to as friends. The wolf shook his head again in an attempt to clear it, but the silver’s effect made it impossible. He just had to hold on a bit longer. Emma would return any moment and help stall for time. He just had to remain conscious until then. What was it the man was saying now? He’d met a girl? Killian focused his attention on Bae’s tale, hoping it would keep him awake.

“I know, I know,” Bae chortled. “Who would have thought that either of us could find love, right? I knew the moment she tried to steal my car, which I’d already stolen, by the way, that she was the one.” Killian’s blood ran cold at his words, and he lifted his head to meet the man’s eyes. “It wasn’t the first time I’d come across her, though,” the man reminisced. “I recognized her scent from years before when I fed on a couple, and left their daughter behind.” Killian’s heart slammed in his chest from the rage churning in his gut which only exacerbated his weakened condition. “There was something about her scent that told me she was special, but I never expected for her to show up in my life again. Of course, she didn’t seem as connected in our bond as I was at first, but that changed once I started do-”

“Dosing her coffee with your blood.” Emma emerged from behind a tree to Killian’s left, a sight that had him both relieved and riled with worry.

“Emma?!” Bae shot to his feet with a stunned expression on his face that answered Killian’s internal question of whether or not he’d already been aware of her connection to them both.

“Neal,” she answered coolly, making her way to stand protectively in front of Killian while the man reconciled the meaning of her presence.

“You?! You’re his… his…”

“His mate.”

“His bitch,” Bae spat. Killian growled, and Emma reached back to run a soothing hand through his fur. “You let him turn you? Into a filthy werewolf? You could have been so much more, Emma. _I_ could have given you so much more.”

“All you ever gave me were lies,” Emma challenged.

“Oh, and I’m sure Killian was upfront and honest from the very beginning about what he was.” A smug sneer twitched at his lips from her hesitation.

“At least he didn’t try and change me before confessing what he was.”

“But he _did_ change you!” he hollered. “And now you’re nothing but a… wait.” Bae’s eyes went wide as he verbally pondered, “He _changed_ you. That means you’re a Bitten, so how did you transform earlier without the full moon?”

Even without seeing her face, Killian knew the triumphant expression that now graced Emma’s features as she said, “Killian didn’t just make me his mate when he changed me.” Bae stumbled backward, and Killian knew he’d just seen her eyes flash crimson. “He also made me his bond, which means I’m not letting you anywhere near him.” Emma pulled the gun she’d had holstered in the back of her waistband and pointed it squarely at Bae’s chest.

“Immortal. Remember?” Bae responded with more bravado than his eyes betrayed.

“But not invincible,” she countered. “Three ways to kill a vampire. Sunlight, beheading, or penetrating its heart. Dawn’s still several hours away, and I assume you still have whatever trinket you used so you could go about in the daylight, and I might not have a sword to decapitate you with, but I assure you… I’m an excellent shot.”

Bae took a moment to weigh his options before threatening, “This isn’t over,” then hightailing it back into the shadows of the forest.

Emma waited until she was sure he’d cleared the area before releasing Killian’s leg from the trap. Finally freed, he collapsed to the ground, pain still spasming through him from the silver corrupting his bloodstream. The scent of Emma’s blood twitched in his nose and danced along his tongue as she pierced her palm with her fangs. He greedily lapped up the offering from her hand, allowing its healing power to combat the poison in his veins before losing all coherent thought as Emma carried his wolf form back to the cabin.

* * *

Killian groaned in the wake of his transformation back into human form. Enough of the silver had been purged from his body to allow the shift, and he awoke to the calming presence of his Emma running her fingers through his hair.

“Hey beautiful,” he croaked, turning his head, which was resting in her lap, so he could look up at her.

“How are you feeling?” Her brow was furrowed with concern, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth as her gaze swept over his face.

“None the worse for wear, I assure you,” he comforted softly.

“Good.” Without warning she slapped his chest with a cracking force and shoved him off her lap to stand next to the bed.

“Bloody hell, woman,” Killian grunted in pain from her strike, the residual ache of the silver, and the still healing wound on his forearm.

“Don’t you _bloody hell woman_ me, Killian Jones,” she snapped. “What the hell were you thinking going out alone? Do you have any idea what you put me through when I woke up to find you gone, only to hear you howl in pain from off in the distance?”

The tears shimmering in her eyes tore right through him and he moved to kneel before her on the bed. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

“Don’t.” She held up her hand and took a step back from him, which hurt far more than her tears. “I don’t want your apologies. I want you to stop keeping things from me. We’re a team. You said I was your partner, that you would always treat me as your equal, but then you go off all lone wolf and nearly get yourself killed!”

Tears streaked down her cheeks, and her whole body trembled with a mixture of rage and fear. Killian left the bed and pulled her into his arms, another apology suppressed at the tip of his tongue. Those weren’t the words she needed from him. “You’re right, Swan. I was reckless, and thoughtless, and…”

“A complete sodding git,” she muffled harshly into his shoulder.

A smile tugged at his lips, and he tightened his embrace. “Aye. That too.” He pressed a kiss into her hair before pulling back to wipe away her tears, allowing his eyes to do all the apologizing necessary through their bonded gaze.

Emma nodded her head at his unspoken atonements, and the two resumed their places on the bed; Emma laying on her back with his head resting against her stomach, so she could continue her soothing caresses through his hair.

“Did you know?” she asked quietly.

“I discovered it was my old army buddy after you’d fallen asleep, but I didn’t know that Bae was also Neal until just before you arrived the second time.”

“How did you figure out it was him? That he was the vampire behind the attacks?”

“The scent,” Killian replied, shifting his head. “Once I studied it properly I recognized a specific note in its mixture. The same redolence you and I both share.”

“The sire bond?” Emma deduced.

“Indeed. We all share it. Bae and I more strongly, since our sire is the same, but you as well since you are part of the line.”

“Does this mean I have to call him Uncle Neal?” she teased. “Because that would be weird.”

Killian huffed in amusement and waited for the questions he knew she’d get around to sooner or later. The ones they hadn’t addressed since the last time they’d been in the cabin, both wishing to simply let the past remain in the past.

“What happened between you two? I mean, I know you killed his father, but you told me things had gone bad between you before then.”

“You remember how I told you that I kept my wolf side from him?” She nodded in the darkness. “Part of the reason I did was because I’d been shunned every time someone learned of my dual nature, but the other reason was the same as why I didn’t tell you about my other nature when you first learned I was supernatural.”

“He told you he hated werewolves,” she responded knowingly.

“For good reason,” he continued. “A werewolf killed his mother.”

Emma hummed thoughtfully. “And then he ended up being the vampire that killed my adopted parents, creating my hatred for _his_ kind. That’s a hell of a coincidence.”

“Fate can be funny that way,” Killian mused.

“So, I’m guessing it didn’t go over too well when he found out your weren’t _just_ a vampire.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Killian’s chest tightened at the memory. The look of anguish on Bae’s face when the truth had come out. “Because of our sire bond, we had regarded one another as a brother, as family. Once he discovered what I was he… he saw it as the ultimate betrayal, and then I…”

“You what?” Emma prompted.

“Then I had to tell him the truth about how his father had turned me, that he killed my family. Bae accused me of using him to find out about his father so I could kill him. He didn’t believe me when I told him my motives had changed. He deserted that very night, and I never saw him again, until tonight.”

“You didn’t know he’d made peace with his father when you-”

“No,” Killian insisted. “Though, I’m not sure it would have mattered. Once I learned my family’s killer was in Germany, I enlisted again and made it my mission to hunt him down. I caught him just as the war ended, then came back to Storybrooke when it was all over.”

She didn’t press him any further, knowing he’d give her the details of the encounter if she asked, but not wishing to force him to relive it. “So what now?”

Killian sighed. He’d been wondering the same thing. “We’ve no choice but to tell Graham and Arthur that we’ve identified the vampire. His vendetta may be against me, but he’ll have to answer for his crimes against their packs.”

“All those attacks, and for what? Just to lure you back here?”

“So it seems,” Killian answered heavily.

“Don’t do that.” Her hand stilled, and he swiveled his head to look up at her.

“Do what?”

“Blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.”

Through the darkness he could see the battle she was fighting with her fatigue. Now that the anger and trauma had passed, the long day and night was catching up with them both. Killian took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth, brushing it lightly against his lips.

“Get some sleep, love.” She tsked at his side stepping and raised a brow at him. “I promise to not leave this bed again until morning.”

“You better not,” she yawned. “Or else I’m gonna have to put _you_ on a leash.”

“You’d get no complaints from me,” he purred cheekily, pulling a snort from her before she drifted back to sleep.

Killian knew he should move to his side of the bed and allow Emma to sleep undisturbed, but couldn’t bring himself to pull away from her just yet. He took in the solace of her scent, the gentle rhythm of her breathing, and the metronomed beat of her heart. Something strange stirred his attention as he lay there, though. A faint fluttering had him pressing his ear more firmly against her abdomen and his breath caught when he realized what he was hearing.

A heartbeat.

Killian bolted upright in stunned amazement and let out a watery chuckle as he looked down lovingly on his mate. A babe. They were going to have a baby.

Killian’s mind raced every bit as much as his pulse at this new reality. Why hadn’t she told him? Was it possible she didn’t know? How far along was she? Would their child be like them? As he settled next to her on the bed he was overcome with that instinctual drive to protect what was his. With his hand protectively draped over her stomach, Killian considered how he would convince her to stay in the safety of the cabin the next day. It was true that they were a team, but Emma’s pregnancy changed everything. Killian resolved to stand his ground the next morning, and finally nodded off preparing himself for a fight.

* * *

“I think I might just stay here today,” Emma announced the next morning as Killian prepared their breakfast.

“Really?” Killian turned from the burner with a stunned expression, dropping bits of scrambled egg on the floor from the spatula grasped tightly in his hand. “I mean, uh… why?”

Emma narrowed her gaze at him suspiciously. He knew he’d been acting strange all morning, trying to find a way to broach this very idea with her, while also attempting to figure out if she knew of her condition.

“Now that we know who’s behind the attacks, I think my time would be best spent here doing some research to see if Neal has any connections to the area. Maybe get an idea of where he could be hiding out.” She chewed her lip hesitantly and moved to stand before him, placing her hand on his chest before adding, “Plus, I think it would be better if you broke the news to the other males without me there adding to the tension.” He opened his mouth to respond, but she pressed on before he could. “I couldn’t care less about making them uncomfortable. You’re the only one I’m concerned with. It’s important that they respect you as an Alpha, especially now, and I think that’ll be easier without me there.”

Killian swallowed hard, his eyes darting between her own. “Are you sure those are the only reasons you’d want to stay here today?”

Emma cocked her head, her brows scrunching in confusion at the question. “What other reason would I have?”

Killian diverted her inquiry with a shrug and turned back to the stove top to finish off the eggs. He could feel her speculative gaze burning at the back of his head, but she thankfully chose not to press him any further.

“Did you make coffee yet?” she asked, moving toward the cupboard at his right.

“There, uh, isn’t any,” he fibbed. “Ruby must have forgotten it when she stocked the cabin. There’s tea, though.”

Killian glanced over his shoulder as Emma groaned and reluctantly made herself a cup of tea. “Make sure and pick some up when you’re in town.” He gave her a noncommittal smile and brought the pan of eggs over to the island to add to the rest of the spread he’d prepared that morning. “Uh, Killian?” she began with raised brows. “We’re hybrid bounty hunters, not Romanian powerlifters. What’s with the buffet?”

“We skipped lunch yesterday and barely ate dinner. I figured you’d be hungry.”

“There’s hungry, and then there’s preparing for hibernation,” she quipped playfully before turning a speculative look in his direction. “I’ve never known you to be a stress eater.”

He chuckled nervously and handed her a plate, suppressing the urge to scratch behind his ear which he knew would give him away. If she thought he was acting odd as some sort of side effect from the tension the day before, then he would let her. Now that he was reasonably certain she was not aware of the babe growing within her, he didn’t quite know how to tell her. It probably wasn’t the right time anyway. The other males would be expecting him, and she needed to stay focused on tracking Bae, er… _Neal’s_ movements over the past few years. There would be time later for such revelations, and a proper celebration over the news.

They both ate quickly and in relative silence. Killian did not wish to cause any further suspicion that might result in a conversation he was not ready for, and Emma seemed willing to simply leave him with his thoughts.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?” Killian asked as he prepared to leave for town.

“I’m sure. Other than coffee, I have everything I need.”

Killian huffed in guilty amusement before grabbing his keys and gave her quick peek on the cheek.

“Hey,” she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to her. “Before you go, are you going to tell me what’s going on with you? You’re acting strange.”

“I’m fine,” he dismissed lightly with an overly bright smile.

“You know I can tell you’re lying, right?” Her eyes didn’t hold any mistrust, just a stated reminder that he wasn’t fooling her.

Killian sighed and confessed, “Aye, love. I know. It’s just… I’m not sure how to, that is… this might not be the right time to-”

“It’s okay,” she soothed tenderly, running her hand through his hand and toying with the wisps at the back of his neck. “I get it.”

“You do?”

“I’m still processing everything from last night, too,” she whispered timidly. “I never expected to see him again, and knowing that he’s here causing all this carnage because he wants revenge against you...” She shook her head and looked down at her feet. “We’re bounty hunters, not murderers, but I can’t help wanting to tear out his throat for what he did to you last night. I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling.”

Killian gripped her chin and gently tilted her head back up. “I’ve wanted to end the bastard ever since you told me what he did, and tried to do to you,” he admitted. “Knowing that it was the same man I once called friend doesn’t change that. You aren’t alone in your murderous desires.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms to try and provide her a sense of comfort, and to perhaps try and quell his own rising ire. “But as you said, it isn’t our place to mete out his punishment. We have a duty to bring him in to face justice... more’s the pity.”

His final words managed to pull a smile from her. Arms circled his waist, and he wrapped his around her, breathing in her scent and recognizing for the first time a fresh note in its mixture. His throat tightened at this new evidence of his child’s existence, and it took everything in him to not blurt out the truth and drag his mate back to bed so they could celebrate _properly._

“Are you sure you’re okay with me not coming with you? I don’t want you to think I’m abandoning you to explain all of this on your own.”

“I’m sure,” he said quickly, not wanting her to change her mind. “I’ve got to go. It wouldn’t do for me to be late.” With one last kiss he disentangled himself from her embrace and headed for the door.

“Make nice with the other Alphas,” Emma called after him.

“Where’s the fun in that?” he shot back with a wink.

* * *

Emma stretched and got up from her laptop, heading back to the kitchen for another cup of tea while the program she’d been running finished its search. Wrinkling her nose at the dissatisfying beverage, she had half a mind to text Ruby and have her remind Killian about bringing back coffee. Maybe even ask how things were going between the men.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about how Graham and Arthur would take the news that all of the attacks had simply been a ploy to lure Killian back to the area. Though, why Neal had attacked the Camelot pack, she wasn’t quite sure. It seemed too coincidental for it to have been some other random vampire, but nothing she’d found in the past few hours had given her any sort of connection between Neal, Camelot, or Storybrooke.

The sound of the perimeter alarm from her phone startled her from her thoughts. It was too early for Killian to be back. She wasn’t expecting him for another couple of hours at least. When she didn’t hear the crunch of the tires on the gravel driveway, Emma pulled back the curtain and peered out the window. Killian’s truck was nowhere in sight, but it wasn’t long before the cause of the perimeter alarm started making its way towards the cabin.

Emma retrieved her gun from the bedroom and swung the front door open just before Neal could set foot on the porch. He raised his hands in response to the barrel directed at him.

“I just came to talk.”

“Then talk,” she replied without lowering her weapon. “My hearing is excellent. No need to come any closer.”

“Could you maybe put the gun down first?” he suggested apprehensively, his arms still raised above his head. “I promise I won’t come any closer unless you ask me to. You know, like if you wanted to invite me in or something.”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“That’s too bad,” he quipped with his still familiar arrogance. “I was hoping we could catch up over a nice cup of coffee.”

“We’re out of coffee,” Emma deadpanned. “What do you want, Neal?”

“I told you. I want to talk.”

“About what, exactly?”

“You,” he answered softly. “How have you been? You look good.”

Emma raised an incredulous brow while lowering her gun slightly. “Are you serious right now?”

“Of course I’m serious.” He lowered his arms and took a step forward, stopping short when she raised her weapon again. “I’ve missed you.” Emma snorted, but he continued on, undeterred. “I didn’t want to leave like that, but I knew you’d need some time to get over the shock. I always intended to come back, I just got a little… sidetracked.”

“Please,” she scoffed. “I don’t believe for a second you ever intended to come back. You’re a coward, Neal.” His fists clenched at his sides. “That’s why you didn’t come at Killian directly. You preyed on the weaker members of the packs, then laid a trap you knew he couldn’t free himself from. Tell me something, Neal. Did your daddy teach you that?”

Red flashed in his eyes, but he remained where he was. Perhaps sensing that she was purposely goading him. Killian was right, they weren’t Neal’s judge and jury, but that wouldn’t stop her from pulling the trigger if he came at her.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I? Do you really think I don’t know about how your father tortured and murdered Killian’s family?”

“And did he tell you what he did to my father in return?” he seethed. “You’ve put him on some sort of pedestal, believing he’s this virtuously righteous being when in reality he and I are not so different.” Emma rolled her eyes, pulling a sneer from his lips. “I know things, too. I asked around, and it turns out your change wasn’t entirely consensual, was it?”

Emma’s eyes widened, his words snapping in her mind as a cold line of dread ran down her back. “What do you mean, you asked around?”

“I can be quite… _persuasive_ ,” he said smugly, confirming Emma’s fear that there might be members of the packs unknowingly operating under his persuasion. “How can you stand there and tell me that what he did to you is any different than what I did?”

“Killian only changed me to _save_ my life, you only ever tried to _take_ it,” she grit out through clenched teeth.

“Come on,” Neal scoffed dismissively. “It wasn’t all bad. You can’t deny that we had something special.”

“What we had wasn’t real.”

“We can make it real,” he insisted. “With the sire bond we now share, it’ll be real this time.”

“Are you insane? Even if I wasn’t bonded to Killian _as his mate_ , I would _never_ choose to be with you.”

Neal’s entire countenance darkened. “Even if it meant saving your _mate’s_ life?”

“You really think you’re a match for him?” Emma snickered. “Killian’s a hybrid, Neal. He’s faster than you, stronger than you, and impervious to silver in human form. He can’t be persuaded, has no photosensitivity, and… he has _me_ to watch his back. So, threaten him all you want, Neal. My money is on my Alpha.” The pinging of the perimeter alarm sounded from her back pocket, and Emma threw Neal a smug look of her own. “Speaking of…”

Neal glanced over his shoulder, his startled expression barely smothered when he turned back to face her. “It doesn’t have to be like this. You can end things now by coming with me.”

“The only way this ends is with you in our custody to face justice,” she replied matter of factly. “Turn yourself in, Neal.”

A broad, gloating grin broke over his face. “Not today.”

Emma tracked him with her gun as he ran towards the treeline, unable to get a shot off before he disappeared into the woods. A growl of frustration tore from the back of her throat as she slammed the front door closed. She should have just shot the bastard where he stood.

Emma emerged from the bedroom, having just stowed her gun away, when Killian burst through the door. “Swan?!” His panicked expression gave way to relief when he caught sight of her, and he wasted no time securing her in his arms. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him, running her hands soothingly up and down his back. “He never even made it onto the porch.” She didn’t need to explain who _he_ was. The lingering scent already answered that.

“What did he want?”

“Long story short… me.”

Killian pulled back, his expression hard and unyielding. “Come again?”

“He seems to think that since we share a sire bond now that things would be different between us this time around. He wanted me to run away with him.” She rolled her eyes and huffed exasperatingly. “The man is delusional.”

The muscle in Killian’s jaw began to tick wildly and his gaze darkened with hints of scarlet in their midnight hue. “That’s it, then,” he snarled as he stalked past her towards the bedroom. “You’re going back home. Now.”

“What?” Emma rushed after him, watching in disbelief as he grabbed a bag from the closet and began filling it with her things.

“Graham, Arthur, and I will deal with Neal,” he said without missing a beat. “I want you safely back home by tonight.”

Emma began removing her belongings from the bag after he went into the bathroom to gather her toiletries. “You are _not_ sending me away, Killian. I’m not leaving you here to deal with him on your own.”

“Yes, you are, Swan,” he stated emphatically as he dumped bottles and other products into the bag, refusing to meet her gaze.

“No. I’m not,” she snapped indignantly. “We talked about this last night. We’re a team. Partners.”

“Things are different now,” he growled impatiently, sweeping a frustrated hand through his hair.

“How? How are things different?” She braced her hands on her hips, unwilling to give an inch.

“They just are.”

“Why? Because now that you’re surrounded by other Alphas you feel the need to exert your authority?” she sassed. “You might be my Alpha Killian, but I have just as much right to be here as you do. I can handle Neal. I can take care of myself.”

“And what about the baby, Swan?!” Killian roared, causing Emma to blanch.

“Baby? What baby?”

Killian swallowed heavily and closed his eyes briefly before moving to stand before her. His expression was softer now with eyes full of emotion as he placed his hand over her stomach. “This one.”

Emma’s mouth dropped open in astonishment, the truth of all her seemingly unrelated symptoms slamming into her all at once. “I’m… I’m pregnant? H-how do you even know that?”

“Last night, after you fell asleep, I was resting my head against your stomach, and I heard it.”

“Heard what?” Emma questioned, still having trouble fully processing the news.

“A heartbeat, love,” he answered with a watery smile and thick tone. “I heard the wee one’s heartbeat.”

Emma clamped her own hand over his against her abdomen. “Are you sure?”

“Aye. It was faint, but strong.” He glanced down at their hands then looked back up at her with a hint of uncertainty. “You really didn’t know?”

“No,” Emma breathed, her eyes brimming with tears. “We’re going to have baby?”

“Aye, love,” he beamed, a happy tear slipping past his lashes. “We are.”

They both laughed through their tears and exchanged soft kisses, holding one another as they relished the moment of pure joy.

“I can’t believe you knew before I did,” she muffled against his shoulder.

“Well, now that we do know about the babe, it’s even more reason for you to go. For the wellbeing of-”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Emma chastised, looking up at him with a firm resolve in her eyes. “Don’t you dare use my being pregnant as some sort of excuse to try and send me away. If anything, this child is all the more reason why I _should_ stay.”

“How do you figure?” he questioned with scrunched together brows.

“Neal is a part of both of our pasts. We both deserve the chance to deal with that past before moving forward with our future. _This_ future,” she emphasized by gently pressing her hand against her stomach.

Killian let out a resigned sigh. “You can’t blame a man for trying to protect what’s his. I mean… that’s not what I meant, love. I-”

“It’s okay, Killian.” She cupped his cheeks. “I know what you meant. You have to stop berating yourself for these instincts. Do you honestly think I don’t get territorial or possessive about you from time to time?”

“Oh?” Intrigue danced within his eyes and a smirk twitched at his lips. “Is that so?”

Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, and replied huskily. “I see the way women look at you; humans, vampires, werewolves, they are all stare at you like a piece of meat they want to devour, and it makes me crazy.”

“Does it, indeed?” His eyes darkened slightly and his grip on her hips tightened.

“Mhmm.” Her tongue swept across her bottom lip and his gaze tracked its movement. “Because as much as I’m yours, you’re mine, Killian.” Her fingertips grazed along his jaw and over his mouth. “My lips,” she declared before running her hand down his body, laying claim to other parts of him. “My neck. My chest. My chest hair,” she quipped with a twitch of her brows, causing him to chuckle before he sucked in a short breath when her hand found its way under his shirt. “My abs,” she continued, smiling at how his muscles jumped under her touch. She guided her hand lower and cupped his hardening length through his jeans. “My…”

“Yours,” he groaned, closing his eyes and tilting his head back.

“Damn right,” she said, stripping him of his shirt then pushing against his chest until he fell back onto the bed. “All mine.”

“If I didn’t know better Swan, I’d say you were pretty guilty of that devouring look that makes you so jealous of others,” he teased. A lusty smirk accompanied his raised brow as he looked down his body at her and watched while she unfastened his jeans.

“Oh, I most definitely intend to devour you.” His Adam’s apple bobbed and his hips lifted, allowing her to free his legs from the remaining garments before she sank down onto her knees and pulled him closer to the edge of the bed.

Her hands skimmed along the tops of his thighs and lightly scratched through the coarse hair at their apex. She could hear the rush of blood in his veins, the hot and steady stream that continued to harden him and drove her wild with its pounding in her ears. Shallow pants of anticipation echoed in the quiet room, and he twitched under her feather light touch when she took him in hand. A soft plea fell from his lips when her breath ghosted over his tip, and the moan he gave as she swirled her tongue around his velvety head shot straight to her core.

Working him over with her mouth, tongue, and hand it wasn’t long before his legs began to shake, his climax quickly approaching. Emma pulled her mouth from him, but continued her pleasant assault with swift, even strokes as she fixed her attention to the vein calling to her from the inside of his thigh. His hips bucked at the pin prick sensation and continued to thrust into her hand as she drew from another source of pleasure. Husky and strained encouragements gave way to a choked sob when she broke off from her ministrations just before he could find completion.

She giggled at his disgruntled expression and began shimmying out of her own clothes. “Do you delight in my torment?” he groused playfully.

“Pay back for depriving me of coffee today,” she countered as she crawled up his body and straddled his hips.

“Mmm, a most grievous sin,” he confessed with a small whimper at the roll of her hips over his.

“Bet you won’t be making that mistake again,” she stated smugly, running her fingers through his dampened chest hair as she continued to swivel her hips tortuously over his.

“On the contrary,” he mused in a slightly strained tone. “If this is to be my penance, then I’ll have you adhering to every healthy pregnancy practice in the book.”

Emma’s breath caught at the reminder of the life growing inside her and she once again placed her hands protectively over her tummy. Killian’s gaze clouded over with an emotion she’d never witnessed from him before; something paternal underscoring the look of strong Alpha devotion and dominance. With his hands resting on her hips, he gently brushed his thumbs over her lower abdomen as she shifted and sank down over his length.

Never taking their eyes off one another, Emma rocked their bodies in a slow rhythm of building desire. Their bond whispering through the other’s consciousness things they could never hope to fully put into words. Impressions of the feelings that resided in each of their hearts infused themselves in one another’s skin under the heat of their gaze. Declarations and promises of forever were silently exchanged until that beautiful pleasure pain expression caressed Killian’s face, and his mouth fell open to give utterances of his ecstasy with her own falling alongside.

An indiscernible amount of time passed with each of them tangled in the other’s arms before Emma heard a soft buzzing sound coming for the floor at the foot of the bed. Killian cursed trying to extricate himself from the covers in order to fish his phone out from his jean’s pocket.

“That’ll be Graham checking in,” he surmised. “I forgot to call and let him know everything was okay here.” He settled back onto the bed and scratched adorably behind his ear. “I uh, left in a bit of an enraged panic when the perimeter alarm went off on my phone.”

With all that had occurred since Killian burst through the cabin door earlier, Emma hadn’t had a chance to ask him how things had gone with the other Alphas that morning, nor had she been able to relay her suspicion that Neal was using persuasion on someone, or ones, in town. Neither of those things seemed to matter after the words that left Killian’s mouth when he answered Graham’s frantic call.

“What do you mean, Ruby is missing?!”


	5. Part Five

By the time he and Emma arrived at the diner, Killian was practically vibrating with rage and worry. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Neal was behind Ruby’s disappearance. Whether she had gone _willingly_ under persuasion, or had been taken by force remained to be seen.

Before making their way back into town, Emma had shared with him her suspicion that Neal was persuading at least one member of the packs. Knowing that Neal had been to the cabin just prior to their arrival, it seemed likely that he may have put Ruby under his thrall when she’d come to stock it with provisions. Emma had the presence of mind to grab her enchanted swan pendant necklace before they rushed out the door, so once they found Ruby they’d be able to break the persuasive hold over her.

Entering the diner, Killian was surprised to find only Arthur and Granny awaiting them. “Where’s Graham?”

“He didn’t want to wait, so I sent my Beta with him to begin the search.” Killian ground his teeth over the slight of Graham not waiting on them to arrive before proceeding, though he could hardly blame him for not wishing to waste time. Not with his mate’s life at stake. “Any ideas yet on where the bastard might be hiding?”

Emma shared the same stunned look as Killian when Arthur addressed the question to her and not him. “Maybe. There’s an old abandoned silver mine about fifty miles west of here. Seems like the perfect place to hideout if you want to avoid werewolves.”

“I already texted Graham the location,” Killian informed him, and a notification sounded from his phone. “That may be him now.”

Arthur asked Emma to show him where the mine was located on the map he had stretched across the counter as Killian pulled his phone from his pocket. He’d almost exclaimed that the text he’d received was from Ruby before reading:

_Say nothing if you want Ruby to live. Call when you’re alone. -N_

Killian warred with himself. Emma had tried to do a search for Ruby’s phone while they were still at the cabin, but it had been turned off. Now that it was clearly back on, they could run a trace, but Killian wasn’t sure if he should risk it. There was no telling who else might be under Neal’s influence, watching them even now, and he knew the man wouldn’t hesitate to harm the woman Killian considered a sister.

“What did Graham say?” Emma asked, turning back to him from the map.

“It wasn’t Graham.” Killian began walking towards the back room, feeling Emma’s speculative gaze track after him. “I have to make a call.”

“To who?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“Killian, what-“

He shut the door on her concerned inquiry and locked himself within the sound proof room.

_“I trust you are alone and where no one can overhear this call,”_ Neal said upon answering.

“Aye. I want to speak to Ruby.”

Killian heard a shuffling noise before the quiver of Ruby’s voice came over the line. _“Killian?”_

“Are you alright, love?” He flushed with a surge of relief mixed with the gnawing anxiety already churning in his stomach.

_“I’m okay. I’m so sorry. Tell Graham I’m sor-”_

“Ruby?!”

_“I think that’s enough,”_ Neal stated coldly.

“What do you want?” Killian growled, the coiling knot of worry in his gut now tightening with fury.

_“I thought that would be obvious,”_ Neal mocked. _“Your misery is what I want. You took my family and the woman I love from me, so I plan to do the same to you.”_ Killian heard Ruby’s muffled sob in the background. _“Only, unlike you, I’ll let you choose which loss to suffer.”_

“What does that mean?”

_“It’s simple really. Ruby or Emma?”_

“What?”

_“Ruby,”_ he drawled out tauntingly, _“or Emma. Which are you prepared to lose? I could kill Ruby now, or... you can break your mate bond with Emma.”_

“How the _hell_ do you expect me to do that?” Killian scoffed. “Mate bonds are for life.”

_“Not if an Alpha shuns their mate. Publicly.”_ Neal answered in a calculating tone. _“If you want Ruby to live, that’s exactly what you’ll do. Now.”_

“You expect me to walk out into the diner and publicly shun Emma?” Killian clarified.

_“Exactly.”_

“And then what? She’ll come running into your loving arms?” Killian mocked. 

_“You let me worry about what happens afterward. You just focus on making it convincing.”_ Killian heard a pained sound from Ruby and his jaw tightened in rage. _“Because believe me, if you don’t… I’ll know.”_

“So you _do_ have someone else under your thrall.” 

_“Once it’s done, drive to the town line and wait for my call,”_ Neal continued on as if he’d not heard Killian’s accusation. _“I’ll give you further instructions once I’m convinced you’ve done your job. You’ve got just under an hour to get it done, or else.”_

The line went dead and Killian had to temper his desire to throw his phone against the nearest wall. The man’s entire plan was ludicrous. He couldn’t possibly believe that the bond he and Emma shared could be broken so easily. Or did he really think that what he felt for Emma was stronger than what Killian shared with her?

Killian swept a hand through his hair then down his face as he considered his next course of action, all the while aware that time was ticking against him. There was nothing for it. He’d have to play out the ruse if he hoped to save Ruby’s life. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he could make Emma understand what was really happening through their bond, but that didn’t make the prospect of what he’d have to do or say in order to make it convincing any less painful.

~/~

Emma kept glancing towards the back room every few seconds trying to keep her cool as Arthur prattled on about his plan for how they should approach the silver mine. A plan that was ridiculous and would probably get them all killed. Curious anticipation gnawed at her insides everytime her eyes landed on the door Killian had sequestered himself behind. She let out a deep sigh of exasperated relief when he finally emerged, but the look on his face had her hackles raising.

“Killian? What’s wrong? Who were you talking to?”

“No one. It isn’t important,” he deflected without so much as meeting her gaze.

“Like hell it isn’t.” Emma grabbed his arm to stop him from brushing past, only to have him yank it from her grasp.

“I _said_ it isn’t important.” The force of his words and glowering look in his eyes were like a slap to her senses. He’d never spoken to her, or looked at her that way before.

“Killian,” she began gently. “What’s going on? Tell me who were you talking to?”

She took a startled step back at the menacing way he approached her, her heart slamming in her chest in a hurt rhythm at the change that had come over him.

“You seem to forget which of us is the Alpha here, Swan,” he grit out through his clenched jaw. “I think I’ve been more than tolerant, so just for _once_ could you mind what I say without all your incessant questioning?”

Emma swallowed and felt the pricking of tears beginning to form in her eyes, _damn hormones_. The reminder of that had her eyes welling further as she looked around and saw the few patrons within the diner cowering in the face of an enraged Alpha. Including a stunned Granny.

“Killian, I don’t understand-”

“I don’t need you to understand,” Killian roared. “I just need you to close your mouth and listen!”

In her shocked and distraught state she’d almost missed it. The quiet undercurrent of desperation in his tone, the slight glimmer of intensity in his eyes that had nothing to do with the anger he was displaying. That’s when she caught it. The faint whisper of their bond seeping into her, assuring her of his love and encouraging her to play along. There was a plan behind his words. She just had to trust him.

“Close my mouth and listen?!” Emma shot back. “Do you even hear yourself right now?” _I trust you._ “You sound like a-”

“Like a what?” Killian challenged, a brief flicker of relief making its way to the surface before the storm clouds behind his eyes took prominence once again. “Like an Alpha? Because that’s what I am, Swan. _I_ am the Alpha, not you.”

“I’ve _never_ made light of your position as Alpha, nor have I _ever_ tried to usurp your authority. We’re partners, remember?”

“How could I forget?” Killian snapped contentiously. “When any official mention of our bond, our _partnership,_ is always as the _Swan_ -Jones hybrids.”

Emma’s mouth gaped open in surprise. The sting of truth ringing in her ears as she could practically hear his wince through their bonded connection. She reached out towards him, but he stepped back, his hard facade firmly back in place.

“It’s high time you started treating me with the respect and deference my position affords me, Swan.”

Emma crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin in defiance. “And if I don’t?”

“Then you leave me little choice,” he stated in a hushed and heavy tone, “but to shun you.”

Gasps echoed through the diner and Emma’s stomach dropped at the mere suggestion. Again their bond washed over her, but even its comfort couldn’t hold back the tears that slipped down her cheeks.

“You don’t mean that.”

Killian’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but his expression remained resolved. “Actually… I do.”

“Killian, don’t do this,” Emma pleaded, frantically seeking assurance through their bond that this was all still part of the plan. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Then you should have considered that before you defied me.” He spun around and began walking toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Her tone betrayed the hysteria that was starting to course through her. “What about Ruby?”

“My family is no longer your concern,” he muttered harshly, still heading for the door.

“I _am_ your family,” she called out in despair, forcing him to turn and look at her. She placed her hands against her abdomen and reminded him, “ _We_ are your family.” _I love you!_

His face gave not an ounce of mercy as he coldly stated, “Not anymore.” The bell of the diner rang out overhead as he wrenched the door open and exited, leaving astonished and speechless townsfolk in his wake. None of whom were privy to the truth of his final sentiment; a sentiment that had Emma collapsing to her knees as it reached her through their bond. 

_I love you too, Emma._

~/~

Killian sat in his truck at the town line, the weight of anguish pressing down on him from all sides. It hadn’t been real. He knew that, and he was confident that Emma knew that too, but it didn’t stop the violent tremors of anxiety rolling through his stomach and chest every time he recalled the words he’d spoken. Words he hadn’t meant, or at least… he hadn’t thought he did. The words had carried more truth behind them than he’d realized they would. Not the declarations about him shunning her, he would never mean those words, but the others… the ones about how she’d chosen to label their relationship, their partnership, those words had held a seed of discontent long buried.

Agitated over the fact that Neal still hadn’t called, Killian roughly ran a hand through his hair, and clutched the wisps in the back. Since the moment they’d arrived in town his Alpha nature had become more and more prominent. Primal instincts he’d once been able to bottle up were now spilling over, and while he was able to dismiss many of them out of hand, he could no longer deny that there were a few aspects of his and Emma’s relationship that his Alpha had a difficult time reconciling. He hadn’t meant to voice his grievances that way, if indeed he’d even intended to ever confess them at all.

He loved his mate. Valued and cherished her. Knew he was the luckiest bastard to ever exist because she had chosen to tie her life to his. What did a few concessions to his dominance matter in the face of their bond and the future currently growing inside of her? What difference did a name really make? The bond was the most important thing, the tie one had with the pack. Their child would make those ties even more binding, as its existence officially made them a pack by werewolf standards. Whether they were the Jones Pack or the Swan-Jones Pack the bond would remain eternal.

Despite Neal’s attempts to make it otherwise.

Killian’s phone rang as if on cue. _“Well done,”_ Neal praised over the line, forcing Killian to swallow back the bile threatening to make its way up his throat. _“My source tells me you were quite successful.”_

“Aye. I held up my end of the bargain. Now, release Ruby.”

_“Oh, I will,”_ Neal assured hollowly. _“Why don’t you head back to the cabin so you can witness her release for yourself?”_ Killian balked at the news that Neal and Ruby were at his cabin. In their rush to get back into town, he’d neglected to activate the perimeter alarm. _“ I hope you don’t mind my being here. Ruby was kind enough to offer me an invitation inside.”_ Killian couldn’t contain the infuriated growl that rumbled through his chest over the knowledge that his cabin was now vulnerable to violation. A fact that had Neal smugly chortling on the other end of the line. _“We’ll see you at home in a little bit, Killian.”_

The line went dead and once again Killian’s phone almost fell victim to his spiked temper. Fortunately, he was able to hold onto the shreds of his control before destroying it, slamming his open palm into the center of the wheel instead. Without knowing who Neal had enthralled and whether or not they might still be with her, Killian hadn’t risked calling or texting Emma since he’d stormed out of the diner. Now he wouldn’t have to in order to send her a message. The perimeter alarm would be able to do that for him. Killian opened the security app and toggled it to armed before silencing his phone and driving off toward the cabin.

~/~

Emma stared up at the ceiling, her phone clutched tightly to her chest as she lay on the bed in one of the B&B rooms. Tears still clung to her lashes, but the ache in her chest had lifted slightly since Granny had led her up the stairs to the vacant room. A task she’d thankfully chosen over shooting Arthur with her crossbow when he’d dared to wrap an arm around Emma in an attempt to assist her off the floor. He’d professed that no slight was intended given that she was no longer an Alpha’s mate, a statement that had the older woman growling fiercely to the point the odious man had backed off.

No longer an Alpha’s mate.

When Emma had asked Killian to come live with her, she’d thought she was offering him a chance to be a part of something. A community he could belong to that would accept him for who and what he was. It wasn’t until their bond had felt threatened that she’d realized the truth; he was the one that had provided her a place to belong. 

She had little memory of the Swans, the couple that had initially adopted her and had died at Neal’s hand. Legally, the name had remained with her throughout her years in foster care, and she’d had no reason to change it. It wasn’t a name she’d ever felt especially close to, not until Killian had called her Swan that first time on the side of the road. The way it had rolled off his tongue like an endearment had made it special. She was _his_ Swan.

Vampire and werewolf ties were stronger than any vows of marriage, which was why most within those species never bothered with the mostly human tradition. As hybrids, Emma and Killian’s bond was even stronger, so they had agreed that marriage wasn’t necessary. Cleo had referred to them as the Swan-Jones hybrids from the very beginning, and neither she nor Killian had ever contradicted it. Emma wasn’t sure it had even been an issue to Killian until he’d voiced it in the diner earlier. The truth of it seemed to surprise him as much as it had her.

Should it really, though? The two of them may not officially be a pack, but Emma knew the identity of a pack was tied to its name, and that name was a direct reflection of the Alpha and his authority over all its members. When Killian had growled at her his frustration over being referred to as Swan-Jones, it was like he was revealing a fact that hadn’t mattered until that moment. Emma now understood why it had bearing now though, and she placed a hand over her stomach with a small smile pulling at her lips.

They were going to be a family. A pack. Bonds would be created that would extend beyond the two of them, giving them that sense of belonging to something greater that they’d both craved their entire lives. Having their community of human associates and friends had been a wonderful beginning, but ever since they’d returned to Storybrooke, Emma had felt that something had been missing. For all the acceptance and tolerance they’d received in their little community of bounty hunters, she and Killian were still outsiders. Given their unique nature she wasn’t sure there was anywhere they could ever truly belong, but it was becoming more and more apparent that their current location and lifestyle wasn’t going to be ideal for them in the long term. A pack needed space to grow and call their own, and Emma knew that Killian’s territorial instinct would only intensify.

He was an Alpha. Her Alpha. _Their_ Alpha. Being the Jones Pack wouldn’t make her any less Emma Swan. If anything, it made her so much more. Killian gave her that. Like any good Alpha he allowed her room to flourish and push herself, to make mistakes and fight her own battles while always being there to back her up, or step alongside her so she didn’t have to fight alone. He challenged her in the best ways and deferred to her when he knew she’d know best. He was her Alpha, and she was his mate. Nothing was going change that. Nothing.

Emma looked down at her phone willing it to display a message from Killian. She hadn’t wanted to risk calling or texting him. It was apparent to her now that it had been Neal Killian had spoken to in the backroom, and that his demand for Ruby’s safety was that Killian break their mate bond. Emma snorted at Neal’s stupidity. Did he really think it would be so simple? What exactly did he think was going to happen now? 

Actually, Emma wished she knew the answer to that, then she might have an inkling of where Killian had gone after he’d left the diner. Her gut churned anxiously at the thought of him facing Neal alone. If it was a simple showdown between the two of them, Emma wouldn’t have any cause to worry, but with Ruby thrown into the mix… 

She knew her mate well enough to know he wouldn’t hesitate to put himself in harm’s way in order to spare his family. She also knew that he wouldn’t call for backup from Graham. Firstly, because they still didn’t know who they could fully trust, and secondly, because he would feel it was his responsibility to face Neal without endangering anyone else. 

Which left her to have his back. Problem was, she didn’t know where his back was at the moment.

~/~

Killian approached the cabin cautiously. Every sense was on high alert for signs of an ambush or additional players in this sadistic game Neal was playing. The ridiculous notion of knocking filtered through Killian’s mind for a nanosecond before he purposely pushed his way through the front door. There, standing in the middle of the living room, was Neal using Ruby as a human shield with a syringe jammed into the side of her neck.

“Nice of you to join us,” Neal greeted amicably. “Close the door. Come in and have a seat.”

Killian shut the door behind him, but made no move toward the couch or chair. “I think I’ll stand.” Killian shifted his murderous gaze from Neal and softened it when he met Ruby’s eyes. “Are you alright?”

“She will be,” Neal interjected without allowing Ruby the opportunity to respond. “So long as she does as she’s told.”

Killian clenched his fists and took a menacing step forward, growling, “You said you’d let her go.”

“Careful there, _mate_ ,” Neal warned. “This syringe is filled with a silver solution. One more step and I inject it straight into her bloodstream. Now… Sit. Down.”

Grudgingly, Killian complied and sank down into his leather club chair, his hands tightly gripping the ends of the armrests. “What’s the plan here, Neal? I’ve done as you demanded. I’ve shunned Emma.” Ruby let out a surprised gasp then winced when Neal pressed the syringe further into her skin. “I’ve done my part, now let Ruby go.”

“Oh, I will,” Neal assured. “She’s the last piece of the puzzle.”

“What puzzle?”

“The puzzle I’ve began putting together since the moment I discovered Emma was your mate - how to break and reforge bonds.” Neal’s demeanor relaxed as he continued to explain things, and Killian was more than willing to keep him talking. It seemed he hadn’t learned his lesson from the previous night. “It’s a tricky thing, seeing as Emma is a mix of vampire and… werewolf,” he sneered disgustedly. “The simplest way would have been for her to simply choose to leave you, but since she was unwilling to come with me, I had to put this plan into motion.”

“Having me shun her?”

Neal nodded smugly. “That. And establishing a new bond quickly while she’s vulnerable.” Neal used his free hand to fish something out of his pocket before holding it out for both Killian and Ruby to see. Killian snarled at the object, and it took everything within him to not launch himself out of the chair and rip out Neal’s throat.

“W-What is that?” Ruby questioned.

“A vial of blood,” Neal replied. “ _My_ blood. And you’re going to see to it that Emma ingests it.”

“No. I won’t do it!” 

“I’m afraid you won’t have a choice,” Neal mocked before turning her to face him, the syringe still stuck in her flesh with his thumb at the ready on the plunger. “You’re going to go back to the diner and find Emma,” Neal instructed. Killian didn’t need to see Ruby to know that her eyes had started to haze over. The persuasive command taking its hold over mind, will, and emotions. “She’s going to need someone to lean on, someone to offer her some comfort. A nice cup of hot chocolate just might do the trick.” Neal placed the vial in her hand and closed her fingers around it. “You’re going to put my blood in her hot chocolate and make sure she drinks it. Then you’re going to tell her that Killian left and offer to drive her here so she can collect her things. I’ll be waiting for your return. Do you understand?” Ruby nodded compliantly and Neal’s grin made Killian’s stomach turn. “Good girl.”

“Sound like a lovely plan, mate,” Killian grit out through his clenched teeth. “Just one problem.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“What’s to keep me from ripping your head off your shoulders after Ruby leaves and it’s just the two of us left here?”

Neal’s smug grin only broadened. “It won’t be just the two of us. I’m expecting company.”

Killian’s phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating that the perimeter alarm had gone off, and he stretched out his senses, listening for any clue as to who their mystery guest might be. Footsteps echoed across the porch minutes later causing Killian to turn his attention toward the door. The sight that greeted him upon its opening made his heart cease and drop into his stomach.

“Lucas!” Ruby’s anguished cry rang out through the room. Little Lucas tugged helplessly against the tight grip that had his arm in a vice. A grip administered by none other than Arthur.

“So you’re Neal’s other enthralled victim,” Killian deduced. Wrongly he realized, as there was no evidence of the cooperative haze in the man’s eyes.

“Actually, no,” Arthur gloated. “I’m acting under my own power, I assure you.”

“Why? How?” Killian couldn’t fathom why a werewolf, even one as despicable as the Camelot Alpha, would ever choose to collude with a vampire against their own kind.

“Would you care to do the honors? Or shall I?” Arthur inquired of Neal in a dramatic flair that set Killian’s teeth on edge. His cohort acquiesced and Arthur began spinning the tale of their association.

As it turned out, Neal had set about attacking members of the Camelot pack in order to fine tune his efforts for when he moved on to Storybrooke. Camelot, being isolated as it was, meant that word was less likely to get out, thereby alerting other packs to be on their guard. It had seemed the perfect place to practice, until Neal had been caught by the pack’s Alpha, Arthur, who had an enchanted charm to protect him against persuasion.

“When Neal told me that his true target was Storybrooke, I saw an opportunity for us to work together.”

“What possible reason could you have to attack the Storybrooke packs?” Killian questioned, his focus seemingly fixated on Arthur even as he kept Lucas and Ruby squarely within his attentions.

“Storybrooke is coveted for its location and power. If I’m going to bring my pack out of isolation, what better prospect could there be than to become one of its packs?”

“You could have just approached Graham,” Ruby stated in a stunned whisper, her voice shaky from the fear she was valiantly trying to fend off from her son being in a madman’s clutches.

“Aye,” Killian agreed. “Graham would have considered your petition. There was no need for any of this additional bloodshed.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Arthur shrugged. “But with the Oz pack disbanding due to the death of their Alpha, and my dashing rescue of the other pack Alpha’s mate, acceptance into the Storybrooke charter is pretty much guaranteed.”

“My rescue?”

“That’s what you’ll be telling everyone when you return to the diner.” Arthur dragged Lucas alongside him towards the couch and sat down as Neal gave Ruby her final set of instructions. “Arthur happened upon your scent and tracked you to the encampment I was holding you hostage in. He freed you and told you to run for help, but you’ve been persuaded to not reveal my location. Hours from now Arthur will stumble back into town with some wounds caused by silver and no memory… or so he’ll say.” He and Arthur shared a sickening smirk, and Killian’s knuckles were turning white from the grip of sheer will he had on his chair. “Once I’ve had word from you that Emma has taken my blood, Killian will pack his things and leave. After you’ve brought Emma back here I will persuade you and your son to forget everything and you’ll be on your way.” Neal took his focus off Ruby to address his last command directly to Killian. “If you so much as move until I tell you to, Arthur will snap the boy’s neck.”

Ruby gave a pained sob and Lucas burst into tears. Killian’s eyes flashed and he determined right then that neither man would leave that cabin alive.

~/~

Emma waited until Ruby was far enough away from the cabin to not be seen or heard before intercepting her. Having heard everything from where she’d crouched down and eavesdropped on the porch, Emma knew the plan Neal had set into motion. She couldn’t let Ruby go back to town in a panic over Lucas, nor could she risk Ruby calling Neal to tell him Emma was nowhere to be found. After several moments of frantic reassurances that Emma would make sure Lucas stayed safe, Ruby left to get help.

Emma drew her gun and took a deep breath before bursting through the cabin door, her sights set on a shocked Neal.

“What? How are you...? You told me she was overcome with grief!” Neal roared at Arthur, who shared the same surprised expression at her presence. 

The only face that didn’t seem phased at all by her arrival was Killian’s. Of course, he knew she’d come. Once the perimeter alarm had sounded on her phone she’d known where to find him and wasted no time making her way to his side. She tried to catch his eye, but they were still firmly set on Lucas. He wasn’t going to take any chances with his nephew’s life.

“It’s over, Neal.”

“No.” Neal shook his head, refusing to acknowledge his failure. “No, it should have worked. You shunned her publicly. It should have broken the bond.” He rounded on Arthur and accused, “You said their bond had been broken!”

“Maybe if he’d ever had a mate of his own he would have realized that bonds exist beyond words,” Killian said in a hushed tone of pure menace. 

Emma could feel the quiet rage rolling off him and it sent a spike of fear into her nerve endings. Not for herself, but for the treacherous men before her. She didn’t need their bond connection to know Killian’s intentions. They were both dead men. They just didn’t know it yet.

“I said, it’s over,” Emma stated again. “You’re both going to answer for what you’ve done.”

Neal’s expression twisted from anger and panic to something that looked like triumph. The creak of the floorboard behind her was the only warning Emma had before she felt an arm wrap around her neck and the sharp jab of a needle insert itself into the side of her throat.

“Ruby! What are you doing?” Killian exclaimed, jumping from his seat and taking several steps toward them.

“I wouldn’t get any closer if I were you,” Neal suggested. “She’s been instructed to inject Emma with the silver if you get too close.” Killian stopped short and shot the man a thunderous look. “Just in case your nephew’s life was expendable to you, I enthralled Ruby with a back up plan to ensure you’d still suffer a great loss in case you tried to intervene in my plan.”

“A great loss?” Emma scoffed, her gun still trained on Neal. “Silver has no effect on a hybrid like me in human form… remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Neal drawled slyly. “But are you willing to risk what it might do to your unborn child?”

Emma blanched and saw the color drain from Killian’s face. How did he know about the baby? Had Arthur told him the news after she’d revealed it in the diner as Killian exited? What _would_ the silver do to their child? Their eyes met, and she and Killian were of one mind; they couldn’t risk it, wouldn’t risk it, but that didn’t mean they would let Neal win.

Handing the gun over to Neal, Emma took the opportunity of his momentary distraction in ordering Killian to return to his seat to pull her enchanted swan pendant from her pocket. She pressed it into the bare skin of Ruby’s arm that was still wrapped around her and hoped against hope that charm would break the persuasion over her in time to save them all, cursing herself for not giving it to Ruby when they’d been outside.

“So, what now?” Arthur hissed, clearly unsettled by the unraveling of their plans.

“Now?” Neal mused, approaching Emma thoughtfully. “Now we are back to plan A.” Neal reached out toward her hand, and Emma feared he might have seen the pendant. It wasn’t her hand he pried open in order to remove something from it, though. Taking the vial of blood back from Ruby, he held it before her. “You have a choice to make. Take my blood and choose to leave with me, or I’ll order Ruby to inject you with the silver.”

“Like you won’t ensure my child’s death once you have Emma all to yourself anyway,” Killian spat.

“Why would I do that when the little brat is going to be my insurance policy?” Neal taunted. “I told you I want you to suffer, so I’m leaving you here alive with the knowledge that she’s _mine_ now. As long as you stay away, your child will live. Who knows? I might even let it call me Daddy.”

Killian’s eyes flashed and his jaw tightened. Emma knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his Alpha nature at bay much longer. She willed the charm to work faster as Neal faced her and raised the vial before once more.

“You’re going to drink my blood, then Killian is going to watch as I take yours.” Her skin crawled and recoiled at the salacious sweep of his tongue over his lips, Killian’s growl echoed in her ears. “Drink it, or risk your child’s life. And the life of the boy.”

Lucas yelped in pain, and the sound sparked Emma’s protective maternal instincts. They were out of time. They had no other choice. Killian called out her name as she reached out to take the vial from Neal’s hand.

“Please, love,” he pleaded, tears shimmering in his crimson hued eyes. “Don’t do this.”

Another attempt to stall until the enchantment took effect. Emma had already communicated through their bond about the pendant, but they both knew they couldn’t wait any longer. Too much was at stake.

“I’m sorry, Killian,” she whispered before bringing the vial to her lips.

She nearly choked when the viscous liquid hit her tongue, the harsh coppery notes violating her sinuses and palate. Before she was forced to swallow its vileness, she felt Ruby react from behind her, pulling the needle from her neck with a soft gasp. Emma saw Neal’s eyes widen from the sound, but before he could take any action she spat his blood right back in his face.

“Ruby, run!” Emma shouted, grabbing for her gun still clutched in Neal’s hand as he swiped at the blood covering his face.

“Not without Lucas!” Ruby cried.

The sound of Arthur’s scream pierced the air, but was followed quickly by the snap of bone then silence. It seemed Killian had Lucas’ safety well in hand. Emma struggled to get the gun away from Neal, the two becoming a jumble of limbs as Killian scooped up Lucas and got him and his mother out of the cabin. 

“Stay back!” Killian commanded from the front lawn, his footfalls back toward the house robbing Emma of her concentration long enough for Neal to shove her back.

Her arm briefly caught on something secured around his neck before it gave way and she slammed against the wall, then down to the floor. Killian’s roar preceded his reentry into the cabin, and Emma’s heart practically stopped when she heard a gunshot ring out. The smell of blood filled the air around her, causing Emma’s head to snap up in time to see Killian’s body colliding with Neal’s. 

The bullet had caught Killian in the shoulder, but his rage and adrenaline were overriding the pain he had to be suppressing. Neal used Killian’s injury to his advantage, applying blow after blow to the wound as the two wrestled with one another. Watching in fear that Neal might get another shot off, it took Emma several moments to notice the necklace laying on the floor beside her. At first she thought it to be her swan pendant, but after picking it up she recognized it as Neal’s. A charm she’d never seen him without when they were dating.

Realization of what she might be holding struck her and she called out to her mate. “Killian! The sunlight! Get him into the sunlight!”

Both men’s heads whipped towards her and their eyes widened. One with realization, the other with fear. Killian shoved Neal toward the door, the man’s hand scrambled for purchase on the doorframe, gripping it tightly until a hard kick to his chest dislodged him and he flew backward onto the porch. Another shot was fired, and a fresh wave of metallic redolence hit Emma’s sinuses. Tackled again, Killian propelled Neal’s body into the fading light of day, and the man let out a horrifying scream, losing his balance under Killian’s toppling weight. Blisters erupted along Neal’s skin, turning his pale skin red before the photosensitivity became fatal and he turned to ash beneath Killian’s still form.

“Killian!” Emma cried out, sprinting towards his prone body. “Killian!” Her knees slammed into the earth beside him, her hands desperate as she pulled on his shoulder to roll him onto his back. “Don’t you dare die on me, Jones!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he groaned.

Emma let out a sigh of relief as she assisted him in sitting up. His hand pressed firmly against the open graze at the side of his ribs from the second bullet, which was already healing. The wound at his shoulder was taking more time, given that the bullet had passed clean through, and Emma offered him her wrist so he might draw additional healing from her vein. 

Licking a few errant drops of her blood from his lips, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. “Are you alright, love?”

“I’m fine,” she assured, sweeping his bangs away from his forehead as she watched the color return to his face from the fresh flow he’d ingested.

“Are you sure?” he pressed. “You hit the wall and ground rather hard.”

His gaze settled on her abdomen and she brought her hands up to rest them there. “I’m sure. We’re both fine.”

Their eyes met and she could see remorse overflowing in his blue depths. “I’m sorry, Emma. For the things I said. I-”

Emma cut off his words with the press of her lips. Killian’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. It felt as though it had been days, not hours, since she’d last felt his body against hers. All she wished to do in that moment was lose herself in the hot slide of his mouth over hers, but the clearing of a throat jarred them both from the passionate reverie.

“Sorry,” Ruby apologized sheepishly. “I didn’t want to leave without knowing you were both okay.”

“We should be the ones checking on you,” Emma replied as she stood and pulled Killian to his feet. “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ruby responded, giving Lucas’ shoulder a soft squeeze as he stood in front of her, tears drying on his cheeks.

“Are the bad men gone?” Lucas sniffled.

“Aye, lad. They are.” Killian knelt down before his nephew and placed a hand on the boy’s other shoulder. “You’ve no need to be afraid of them any longer.” Lucas sniffled again, trying to put on a brave face as fresh tears made their way down his face. Killian looked back over his shoulder at Emma, and she gave him a nod. She didn’t want to see the boy suffer from the trauma either. “In fact,” Killian continued after a quick glance up at Ruby, “I want you to forget about them entirely.” 

Ruby’s breath caught at Killian’s soothing, dulcet tone of persuasion. “Killian, I’m not sure this is such a good idea. You know how Graham feels about your abilities.”

Emma stepped up next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Do you really want your son to carry around the burden of this, Ruby?”

“Well, no. But-”

“Then let Killian do this for him. For both of you.”

Ruby chewed her lip before finally offering her consent, and Killian continued to relieve Lucas of his fear and worry. “You’re not going to remember coming to my cabin today, Lucas. The last memory you’ll have will be playing at home before your mum arrived to take you to Granny’s. Do you understand?” Lucas’ head lolled in agreement. “Good, lad.” Killian stood and addressed both of the women. “We should call Graham and let him know you’re safe.”

“Can I borrow your phone?” Ruby asked. “I’ll call him to let him know, and that he can meet us at Granny’s.”

Killian handed Ruby his phone and the four of them made their way to Killian’s truck. It would be a tight squeeze, with Lucas having to sit on his mother’s lap, but Emma wasn’t too put out at the idea of being pressed against her mate in the cab on the ride back into town. She was craving his closeness and knew it was from the residual effects of their _fight_ from earlier. From the words that still rang in her ears.

“Emma,” Killian said softly beside her as they walked hand in hand. “About before… the things I said.”

“Shhh.” It was her fingertips that stayed his words this time. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“We should discuss it though,” he insisted.

“We will,” she promised. “Just not now? Please? I just want to be close to you right now.”

Killian smiled down at her, crinkles appearing at the corner of his eyes that shone with all the love she felt filling her heart to nearly bursting in that moment. “Aye, love. Later.”

~/~

Killian braced himself the entire way back to town for the fallout he was sure to receive from both Graham and the Camelot Beta. Though shocked at the tale of treachery Killian and Emma relayed to him, Lance took the news of his deceased Alpha better than anticipated. He’d half expected a pack war to ignite, but the strong and stoic Beta simply requested that he be allowed to take his Alpha’s body back to Camelot with him. Despite Arthur’s betrayal to their kind, Graham offered Lance his gratitude. Before the Beta departed, Graham invited him to consider becoming a part of Storybrooke. The irony of which was not lost on either Killian or Emma.

He’d be lying if he’d said he didn’t covet the invitation. Tumultuous as his past was with Storybrooke, it was the only place that had ever really felt like home to Killian. Of course, he was happy to live wherever Emma felt most at home; she was his home now. He doubted she’d even consider settling down there anyway. Not with the history it held for her personally. Still… he was envious of Lance and the Camelot pack. He couldn’t deny that.

The gentle touch of his mate’s hand toying with the back of his hair as they sat and listened to Ruby relay the story of her abduction and rescue to Graham cast Killian into a bit of a stupor. He wanted nothing more than to retire to a bed with his Emma so he could reassure her of their bond… several times. There was also the matter of his words he needed to atone for; an atonement that would have to wait its turn. He had one to make to Graham first.

“You used persuasion on my son?” 

Emma stilled and stiffened beside him, ready to come to his defense. He squeezed her thigh where his hand rested and she relaxed slightly before he responded.

“Aye. I didn’t want him to have to live with the burden of trauma the experience had caused him,” Killian explained. “I persuaded him to forget the whole ordeal.”

Killian expected Graham to tell him to go, that it was time for he and Emma to leave town. He never expected the words that eventually left the man’s mouth.

“Thank you, Killian,” Graham responded. “And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what, mate?”

“For not being as good of a friend, as good of a brother, to you as you’ve been to me,” he confessed quietly. “I should have stood beside you against the Oz pack. I never should have left you to fend for yourselves.” Graham set his gaze onto Emma and added, “I’m truly sorry. To both of you. I owe you a debt I can never repay.”

“You don’t have to,” Emma replied sincerely. “Water under the bridge. I’m just sorry this whole mess started because of us. Because of Neal.”

“Well, thanks to the two of you, he won’t be able to cause any more harm.” Graham’s eyes flicked between Killian and Emma and he shook his head incredulously. “I’m not sure I could have done it. Pretended to shun Ruby,” he clarified. “What would you have done if Emma had believed you?”

“That was never a possibility,” Killian stated definitively. “My Emma’s too strong and stubborn to ever accept a shunning.”

He chuckled when her elbow made contact with his still tender ribs, then took her hand in his and raised it to brush his lips across her knuckles.

“You two really do make quite the team,” Graham conceded.

“True,” Emma agreed. “But a pack is only as strong as its Alpha.” She turned and looked adoringly at Killian. “And I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

“I’m not sure two makes a pack,” Graham quipped. 

“It doesn’t,” Killian confirmed, tearing his gaze from his mate to smirk at Graham before glancing down at Emma’s stomach. “But three does.” 

Graham followed Killian’s gaze. His eyes widened and snapped to Killian’s then to his own mate’s. Ruby nodded in confirmation, and Graham surprised them all with a wide smile. 

“Well, in that case. I have a proposition for you, one Alpha to another.” 

“Oh? What’s that?” Killian asked with a raised brow. 

“How would your pack like to become an official member of the Storybrooke charter?” 

Killian’s brows shot up to his hairline at the offer. He looked over at Emma who shared the same astonished expression. “What about the Camelot pack?”

“What about them?”

“I thought you wanted them to become a part of the charter.”

“I do,” Graham acknowledged. “But family comes first. Besides, there’s room enough for three packs.”

“And if they refuse to share a charter with a pack of hybrids?”

“Then I guess that’s their loss.”

Killian was speechless. He didn’t know what to say, at least, not until he shared a meaningful glance with Emma. Her response through their bond mirroring the one that swelled in his chest. 

Killian stood and extended his hand to Graham, who also stood to accept it. “The Swan-Jones pack would love to be a part of Storybrooke.” 

“No,” Emma interjected, earning her a confused look from the men as she stood and extended her hand towards Graham. “The _Jones_ pack would love to be a part of Storybrooke.”

Killian’s breath caught in response to her words. The wild frenzy of his Alpha nature calming for the first time since they’d arrived back into town. Emma gazed up at him, her hand still stretched before her, and Killian could sense her certainty. Their bond wasn’t even necessary in that moment, he could feel the rightness she too was experiencing over the choice. Her choice. The choice to be a Jones, all of them. Killian released Graham’s hand and wrapped his arm around Emma’s shoulder, a grin breaking across his face as he nodded his agreement to the other Alpha. 

Graham took Emma’s hand and shook it, affirming, “Well in that case, Jones Pack… welcome to Storybrooke.”

The End

 


	6. Additional Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An Expand the Verse additional scene requested by @jennjenn615. This little peek into the Varcolac verse takes place about eight months after the events of the main story. Sorry it took me so long to fulfill this. March was not a friend to wording! This completes the second of three expansions from my follower appreciation event on Tumblr. Enjoy!

 

* * *

 

The diner bell chimed when they entered, Emma’s rotund belly preceding them as Killian guided her to their usual booth with his hand fixed squarely on the small of her back.

“Here we are, Swan,” he murmured, helping her get comfortable in the booth. Well, as comfortable as a nearly full term pregnant woman could be. “Sure you’ll be alright here while I meet with Lance and Graham?”

“We’ll be fine,” she answered, looking up adoringly at her mate. “You go do your Alpha thing and we’ll eat… again.”

Killian smiled brightly and joined her hands that were rubbing soothing circles over her stomach. “You be kind to your mother, little cub,” he cooed affectionately.

“We’ll take care of her,” Ruby interjected from behind them. “Lance and Graham are already in the back room.”

“Aye. I best not keep them waiting.” Killian leaned over and kissed Emma’s cheek, his hesitation over leaving his mate’s side was clear from his expression and demeanor, but he had other responsibilities to tend to. With a reluctant sigh he turned to leave, but not before muttering to Ruby. “See if you can get her to eat something green, won’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. Just go.” The woman ordered playfully, ushering him towards the back of the diner to where the other Alphas were waiting.

Once he was out of sight, Ruby gave the signal and a plate of grilled cheese and onion rings were deposited in front of Emma. “You’re a lifesaver, Ruby,” Emma moaned around her first bite of gooey cheesy heaven.

“Anything I can do to make things easier on you,” Ruby laughed.

Before she could turn away, Emma reached out and grabbed on to Ruby’s arm. “You want to make things easier for me? Then get Graham to take Killian away for a few days,” she pleaded. “Isn’t there some Alpha bonding activity they could go do together? Just for a couple of days? He’s driving me crazy, Rubes!”

Ruby wriggled out of Emma’s firm grasp and slid into the seat across from her, a sympathetic look gracing her face. “You know as well as I do that all the packs of Storybrooke couldn’t drag that man from your side right now. You’re too close,” Ruby reminded with a nod of her head towards Emma’s belly.

“I know,” Emma whined defeatedly, taking another bite of her sandwich. “It’s sweet, really it is, but I feel so… so…”

“Smothered,” Ruby offered up knowingly, to which Emma nodded. “Graham was the same way. Their protective instincts go into overdrive.”

“I just want, like, an hour to myself,” Emma complained. “One where he isn’t hovering, or having others look after me when he can’t be glued to my side.” She shot Ruby a look that had the older woman smiling sheepishly. She loved Ruby, was glad for her company, but also knew that Killian had tasked both she a Granny to watch over his mate when Alpha business took him from her.

Emma had decided early on in their days as a new pack in Storybrooke to take a step back when it came to Alpha affairs. Killian had argued that she needn’t make such a deference, that they were a team, but Emma knew deep down that in order to be given the respect his position as a pack Alpha should afford him from other Alphas and their packs, she would need to be the first to show dutiful regard to his position. Besides, Graham and Lance knew her value, and hadn’t treated her as anything less than Killian’s equal since the three packs had unified under a new charter.

There had also been the matter of her pregnancy to consider. Although she hadn’t experienced anything out of the norm for an expecting werewolf, the fact that she was a hybrid left an element of the unknown in the back of everyone’s mind. It was another reason as to why she’d been willing to take a back seat to her Alpha in order to alleviate some of the concerned tensions within Storybrooke… and within herself, if she were being truly honest. A first time pregnancy was daunting enough, add to it the complications of shifting, heightened senses, pack formalities, and the ever present question of what _exactly_ she was pregnant with, and Emma had enough on her plate to worry about than the compounded pressures of leadership.

The bell about the diner door chimed, and the change in atmosphere became palpable when a simultaneous wariness among the establishment’s patrons clenched the air.

“Hi, there,” Ruby greeted cheerily. “Table or booth?”

“Oh, uh…” a male voice Emma did not recognize stammered. “Actually, my wife and I seem to be a bit lost. Would you mind giving us directions back to the highway?”

“Of course,” Ruby replied.

The rustling sound of a map being unfolded and placed upon the counter filled the diner. Emma heard a whispered remark of having to use the restroom come from the man’s wife, and Ruby’s response, directing her to the back hallway. When the woman walked by Emma’s booth on her way to the ladies room, Emma froze. The onion ring hanging from her fingers suddenly became an unsatisfactory offering compared to the scent that now filled her sinuses, making her mouth salivate. She dropped the onion ring onto her plate and gripped the edge of the table, willing herself to remain seated and not follow the unsuspecting woman down the deserted corridor. Panic warred with her visceral urges, which had already caused her fangs to release, forcing her to croak out a desperate plea.

“Granny? I need you to go get Killian for me.”

Misunderstanding the cause of her strained words, Granny rushed over with excitement gleaming from her eyes. “Is it time? Is the baby com-” The word died on her tongue when she saw the crimson glow emitting from Emma’s eyes. “Ruby,” she said with practiced calm. “Go get Killian, now.”

“One sec,” Ruby called back, still relaying to the man the best way back to the highway, unaware of the mounting problem.

Granny glanced back down to Emma, placed her hand over top the one indenting the edge of the table, and gave her a look to hang in there before squeezing her hand and hurrying off towards the back room. Emma’s pulse thundered in her ears, and her breaths stuttered in short labored spurts. She’d never experienced the bloodlust this way. Not that she hadn’t gotten a craving from time to time, but they were usually easy to swallow down and ignore until she could remove herself from the temptation. This time, though… Maybe it was because she hadn’t been around humans in so many months? Was that why the need to feed felt so strong in the presence of the hapless couple who’d wandered in unexpectedly?

Emma didn’t have a chance to mull things over any further. All logical thought completely shut down, allowing her instinct to fully take control, when the woman made her way back from the facilities. A low growl resonated in the back of Emma’s throat, and before she could stop herself she lunged from the booth with a speed and agility inconceivable in her current state. A startled cry escaped the woman when Emma pounced. She trapped the woman against her protruding belly, her exposed neck on full display with the flicker of her heart beat pulsating wildly beneath the blue tint of the vein.

A cacophony of chaos erupted around her; the husband’s outraged shout, Ruby’s protests, the diner patrons adding their words of urging that she let the woman go, but all Emma could hear was the rush of blood flowing underneath the surface of the woman’s skin. With her fangs now fully engaged, Emma bent over the now crying woman’s neck and ignored the buzzing of the crowd, determined to quench the thirst which had thoroughly taken over.

“Emma, stop!” Killian barked in an authoritative tone that left her with no choice but to comply. It hadn’t been persuasion, a skill of their nature that had no effect on either of them. No. It was an Alpha command that resonated in both her natural hearing and their bond. A tone and usage Emma had never heard her mate apply to his words before, but an effective and welcomed one in that moment.

The woman nearly hit the floor when Emma released her and took a startled step back. Fortunately, she was caught by those close by, her knees too weak from fear to support her weight. A scream pierced the diner when she looked up at Emma, who could feel her eyes blazing and fangs throbbing with unsated need. Pulling her gaze from the panicked woman, Emma’s eyes settled on her mate then quickly flicked down to the floor. Shame washed over her, and she couldn’t bear to meet Killian’s eyes.

“Ruby,” her mate said softly, but with a heavy tone of authority. “Take Emma upstairs to one of the spare rooms and stay with her until I get there.”

Head still cast downward, Emma let Ruby lead her to the back stairs and up to a vacant room. No words were spoken between the two women for many long moments, until Ruby finally deposited herself on the bed next to Emma and let go a long held breath.

“Well, I guess the mystery of your little bundle has been answered.”

“What?” Emma said, looking over at the woman in confusion.

“The baby,” Ruby clarified with a soft smile. “What happened downstairs kind of confirms the fact that’s more than just a Born you’re carrying, don’t you think?”

Emma blinked in rapid succession while processing Ruby’s words. She hadn’t considered the possibility of her response being intrinsically linked to the nature of the baby within her. Before she could respond, the door swung open and Killian entered with an inscrutable expression on his face. A nod from him had Ruby up and out the door with one final compassionate look thrown Emma’s way before departing.

“Are you alright, love?” Killian questioned gently, taking Ruby’s place next to her on the bed.

Emma nodded, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes as he took her hand in his and brought it up to brush against his lips.

“How are,” Emma cleared her throat, attempting to expel the lump that had formed there, “How are they?”

“Gone,” Killian replied, his thumb now stroking soothing circles along the back of her hand. “I persuaded them both to forget their little pitstop, and sent them on their way. Lance is making sure they leave the area without further issue.”

“I guess he’ll be doing the same with us when he returns?”

Killian’s brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

Hot tears slipped past her lashes. “I’m sure the packs are ready to run us out on a rail,” she strained out in a whisper.

“Oh, Emma.” Killian’s arms circled her, pulling her into his chest. “No one blames you for what happened. Everyone was on edge with their sudden appearance this close to the full moon.”

“Yeah, but none of them wanted to rip out the woman’s throat.”

“You didn’t, though.”

“Thanks to you,” she sniffled, and felt Killian’s body go rigid.

“I’m sorry I had to-”

“Don’t.” Emma pulled out of his embrace and placed a hand on his chest. “Don’t apologize for doing what you had to do. If it weren’t for that command I would have…”

“What happened, love?” Killian sighed, his eyes earnest in the desire to understand. “I’ve never known you to crave like that.”

“Ruby thinks it might be proof that I’m carrying more than a werewolf,” she confided. “She thinks it might have been a sign that the baby is actually a hybrid like us.”

“That makes sense, I suppose,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ve never heard of bloodlust as a pregnancy symptom amongst werewolves, and you never had a problem around humans during our time away from Storybrooke.”

“What do you think the other packs will say when they discover we’re having a hybrid?” Emma asked nervously, bringing a hand up to place protectively over her stomach.

“They’ve always known it was a possibility, love,” Killian reminded her. “Don’t forget, Graham invited us to join Storybrooke _after_ he found out we were expecting, and the Camelot pack signed the charter with full knowledge they were sharing it with hybrids. I don’t think this confirmation will change anything.”

“How can you say that?” Emma erupted, standing from the bed so she could pace the length of the room. “This changes _everything_!”

“Swan, calm down,” Killian insisted, reaching out to grasp her hand as she waddled past. “You are worrying over nothing, I assure you.”

“How can you be so calm?” she questioned accusingly, allowing him to pull her in close by her hand.

“Do you really think I hadn’t considered the possibility that this pregnancy would have unexpected outcomes? That I wouldn’t have already discussed the potential problems that might arise with Graham and Lance?”

“Is that why you’ve been so… so…”

“Overbearing? Insufferable? Smothering?” He offered with a cheeky lopsided grin. “Aye.”

“Because you knew I’d go homicidal?” Emma exclaimed.

“Because I knew this pregnancy would most likely be complicated, given what we are, and the fact that it is the first of our kind,” he replied tenderly. “And Graham and Lance knew that, too. As did Ruby and Granny.”

“So you’ve all be conspiring against me, is that it?” She pulled her hand from his grip and crossed her arms over her chest in indignation. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Killian swept a hand through his hair and sighed. “Perhaps I should have, but I didn’t want to burden you with anything more than your natural worries as a first time mum.”

His gaze filled with apologetic remorse, but lacked the regret that would indicate he would have done things differently. Emma knew he’d never apologize for doing what he felt was best for her and their child. He was their Alpha, after all. It was his job to look out for them, to consider every contingency of threat that might come against them, even if that threat was of their own making.

“You really think the packs won’t hold what happened down there against me?” She worried her lip waiting for his soothing reply.

“Of course they won’t, love. I attacked another pack member once as well, remember?”

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, not comforting, considering they banished you for a few decades after that.”

Killian took her hands and pulled her onto his lap. It was a miracle she still fit, given her size. “No one is going to banish you, Swan. You and our wee one aren’t going anywhere. I wouldn’t allow it. We belong here. All of us.”

Emma smiled and leaned in to press her lips against his, allowing the tender intimacy of the moment to calm her last remaining nerves over the earlier incident. He was right. They belonged in Storybrooke, and there was no reason to believe that the packs wouldn’t accept their child just as they’d accepted her and Killian.

An acceptance that might come sooner than expected if the sudden tightening around her midsection was any indication.

“Oh,” Emma breathed, clutching her abdomen when she pulled back from their kiss with a pained groan.

“Swan?” Killian inquired with a note of worry. “What is it?”

“I think our little hybrid might have one more surprise in store for us today.”

“Never a dull moment with you two, is there?” Killian beamed.

“Nope,” Emma quipped, her smile returning now that the contraction had subsided. “I sure hope you can handle it… Alpha Daddy.”

THE END


End file.
